by mags
(swansea)

Hi Lee

I want to make roman blinds for my daughter who lives 150 miles away so it is all being done to measurements off the cuff.

My problem is I have never made roman blinds and looking at instructions, I know she can’t fit a batten either inside or outside the window. she lives in married quarters in an old property and she will not trust herself trying to use a hammer drill to get through the masonry etc.

She has only just moved there and hasn’t done any networking to get someone to do it for her yet.

well, i thought about mounting the blind direct onto a rail or existing curtain track or pole and using standard heading tape or a casing, whichever is relevant, but the cord carrier rings present a problem. i have thought about making a casing for the blind heading, and putting a pole through and fixing single hole plate rings to the lower base of the pole from behind. the problem with this is that the carry cord would then be very nearly on top of the casing.

As it would only be to carry the cord across the blind in theory i can see it working, as there is still the distance between the carrier rings and the blind rings which pull up but in practice I don’t have a clue (I am a true blonde and have no vision/imagination)

If you can see what i am getting at, can you help me out here as it is driving me to distraction. To be honest I can’t afford to spend out on proper blind tracks, and even if she could, she wouldn’t be able to fit them so I am looking for a method I could put together down here and basically send up to her ready to hang, or at least just hang the rail.

I always believe in a solution to a problem which you subscribe to as well so I live in hope.

Hi Mags

I think the way forward is to keep it really simple. So If I was trying to fit a roman blind without drilling holes to fix it with. Then I would glue the top baten in place. You can get some very good glues now. “No more nails” or “instant grab adhesive”. Both can be bought at B & Q.

I would use a 2 inch by 1 inch baten as wide as the roman blind. I would to start with staple on the velcro strip to the top of the 2 inch side. Then screw in the the metal eyelets into the 1 inch side to carry the cords.

Then just before you apply the glue to the back of the baten I would hammer in 2 nails. These need to be 1 1/2 inches long. Knock them all the way so 1/2 inch is sticking out of the back of the baten. Then apply plenty of your adhesive to the back on the baten.

Finally position the baten in place over your window. Then with a hammer tap the nails on each side. This will cause them to sink into the plaster. This will hold it up while the adhesive drys.

After 24 hours you should be able to hang your fabric roman from the baten. It will be secure enough to hold the weight of all but the heaviest blind.

I hope it all works out for your daughter. Just make sure she lets the adhesive dry before hanging the fabric.

Best regards

Lee