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Blinds have travelled a long way from their origins as the gauze window protectors of elaborate drapes and furnishings in grand houses. Modern blinds can be totally functional and unobtrusive, or unashamedly ornate and extravagant.

Roman Blinds

These blinds are tailored and neat looking, economical in their use of fabric and regarded as being quite simple to make. There is less sewing in this style of blind than, say, a festoon blind, and they lend themselves to stripes or evenly printed geometric fabrics very well.

The blind is traditionally fitted inside the window frame, and has a series of cords that are pulled or released to raise and lower the blind. These cords are held together and are wound around a metal cleat that has been fastened to the window frame. The best cord is a fine nylon cord that is flexible and not more than 6-8 mm thick.

The cord runs through a series of metal cording rings screwed into the back of timber support laths that are inserted through sewn tucks in the blind (see our illustration for the positions of these elements). To line or not to line — this is the question! Some fabrics simply have to be lined, especially those with strong patterns, or those blinds that have to block out most of the light. Interfacing is ironed on to the back of the main fabric piece and this in itself will block out most of the light and, providing your hems are neat and evenly stitched, may be all you need.

Should you decide that lining is the only way for you to go, cut your lining piece 5 cm smaller all round than your main blind piece. Position the lining on the wrong side of the main piece, fold in your 5 cm-deep hems, stitch, then treat this piece as one layer of fabric. Fabric requirements will depend on how many pleats you desire, and the depth of the timber laths you use. The basic size of the blind is calculated thus: The width of the window frame (inner or wherever you wish the blind to sit) plus the depth. Add 5 cm hems to the sides and lower edge, plus 30 cm in length for folding over the top timber support lath.

Add to this figure approximately 12 cm for each lath pocket you decide to have. The best way to calculate their distance apart is to divide the length of the window into sixths or eighths, allowing room at the very top of the blind for the folds to bunch when the blind is pulled up.

Again, the easiest way to calculate all this is to make a pattern of the blind from brown paper, creasing in the folds, hems and the area folded over the top support lath. It is easy to re- crease the paper until you are satisfied with the spacing and length. Remember that, ideally, when the blind is fully down it should lie flat — with no remaining folds.

Austrian Blinds

These blinds are delightfully stylish, can look dramatic or feminine, and are remarkably easy to make. They usually work well on their own, but can be complemented by side drapes that are not pulled closed. Austrian blinds can be made in sheer fabric, and indeed, this is their ideal weight of fabric, as they originally were intended to allow light through, but to give some sense of privacy to the room. These blinds are permanently ruched from top to base in vertical rows, creating crescents of curved fabric, held in place by integral rows of cording rings on the reverse side. They pull up and are released by fine cording threaded through these rings.

Roller Blinds

Roller blinds are a traditional, simple form of window trimming that can be made at home. They are backed with a firm, iron-on interfacing or bonding fabric and usually have some form of trimming at the lower edge. They are fixed to a’ support lath or roller, and are secured to brackets set into the window frame. They are most suitable where light has to be eliminated; where decorative details are not demanded and simplicity is the key; and where space for curtains is not available. Often they fit behind curtains most unobtrusively, as they roll up neatly and do not create bulk.

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