This simple blind, made from a bold floral fabric backed with a co-ordinating gingham check, can be made very quickly. As the blind has to be rolled up manually, it is ideal for rooms where it can be kept raised most of the time. Ribbons tied in pretty bows hold the blind in place when raised. The wooden dowelling in the bottom of the panel ensures that the blind forms a neat roll and does not sag.
Take 1.5-cm/½-in. seam allowances throughout unless otherwise stated.
2 hours
1. Cut a piece of patterned fabric and a piece of gingham fabric 3 cm/1¼ in. wider and 7 cm/2¾ in. longer than the finished blind. With right sides together, pin and machine stitch them together along both sides and the bottom. Snip off the corners.
2. Turn right side out and press. Cut a piece of dowelling to fit the width of the panel and push it down inside the blind. Hand stitch just above the dowelling to keep it in place.
3. Make two tabs to hold the metal rings. Cut two 9 x 23-cm/3½ x 9-in. rectangles of patterned fabric. With right sides together, fold them in half lengthways and machine stitch 1.5 cm/½ in. from the edge. Turn right side out and press, with the seam in the middle of the tab. Thread each tab through a ring and fold in half.
4. Fold the open end of the blind over to the wrong side by 1.5 cm/½ in. and again by 4 cm/1½ in., placing the tabs under the hem 17 cm/7 in. in from each side. Machine stitch along the bottom of the folded panel.
5. Cut a piece of wood the same width as the blind. Cut a piece of patterned fabric 13 cm/5 in. deeper and 4 cm/1½ in. wider than the wood. Centre the wood on the fabric and glue it in place, folding the corners of the fabric in neatly.
6. Cut a piece of Velcro the same length as the wood and glue one half of it onto the wood. Screw the wood into the window frame.
7. Cut two pieces of ribbon the same length as the blind. Pin and machine stitch the other half of the Velcro to the top of the blind on the wrong side, placing one length of ribbon 17 cm/7 in. in from each side, under the hem.
8. Roll up the blind from the bottom and stick it onto the Velcroed wood. Cut two 25-cm/10-in. lengths of ribbon 12-mm-/½-in.-wide ribbon and hand stitch one onto each ring. Bring the ribbon from the back of the blind to the front and tie to the shorter length of ribbon at the ring.
