Earlier in the fall, I was inspired to make drapery beautiful

Former Phonebooth intern and occasional lunch buddy Clair, was so excited to show us her fully decorated college apartment. As she flipped through the pictures on her fancy iPhone showing varied angles of her first off-campus apartment, I wondered in amazement. She had done fabulous things during the short month she had lived there, while my new place looked like I just moved in after (what was at that point) a nearly a six month stint. I still consider it a work in progress to this day, but I digress…Clair showed each new picture with the novel pride of showing off your first new digs. And then her simple but coordinating drapes caught my eye. They were faux Roman shades, Clair shared. And she made them herself! So humble, she described hos she did a tad bit of sewing to create fabric strips and then tied the strips to cause a nice gather.

Pull the room together with an Easy Roman Shade

Hello! Light bulb! I could make a faux Roman shade – even if I didn’t have a sewing machine. My bedroom was window was so blah. It needed some life, some pizzaz. It needed a roman shade. I figured that I could substitue some wide ribbon for the fabric strips and pin it in place to my existing sheer panel.

So for under $5, I made a easy faux Roman shade. After some rough measurements, I was off to the craft store for some ribbon. It only took about 15 minutes to assemble. And, did I mention it was no-sew? Because it was ridiculously easy with absolutely no sewing required. It really pulls the room together for boudoir look.

Here’s how made a quick and easy Roman shade for under $5:

1. Start by hanging a sheer panel on a drapery rod.
2. Calculate the amount of ribbon you will need for each strip by measuring the distance from the top of the curtain rod to the bottom windowsill. Double this amount and add 2-3 feet to allow for tying the bow. This will be the length of one strip. You will need two strips, so make sure get enough.
3. Select your ribbon color and type at the craft store. I decided not to go with the more casual grosgrain ribbon and instead opted for a nice mocha satin.
4. Keep in mind the total amount of ribbon you need, as well as the length of each individual strip. Ribbon rolls come in different lengths so it may make sense to get two smaller rolls than one larger roll.
5. Gather your supplies, and cut the ribbon into your two strips and find the center point.
6. Using a safety pin (I used the ones from my dry cleaning.) pin the mid point of the ribbon to the back of the top hem of the panel. Drop the ribbon strips down each side of the sheer panel. 
7. Then, gather the panel up to the desired height and tie a simple knot.
8. Repeat this process for the second strip, making sure your gathered heights are even. Tie a bow in each strip and do a nice  V-cut on the ends of the ribbon.
9. Finish by styling  the center gather for an affordably chic look.

Voila! Effortless style.

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