How to Make Your Own Unique Window Covering for Less

I have blinds on my window in my bedroom, but my window faces the east where the sun rises, so every morning, light blazes through and I can never really sleep in on weekends. Also, I have noticed that because of the light shining through, a lot of items in my room have faded or discolored. This is a big issue since I have a lot of collectibles and I always have to arrange them to avoid them being hit by the sun rays' path. Since I didn't want to have to spend a fortune to redo the blinds or put in shutters, I decided to make my own window coverings for less.

First, I measured my window and got its exact dimensions. I made an additional one to two inch buffer just in case. Then, I went to my local Wal-Mart (or you can got to your local fabric store) and chose a thick light colored fabric. I went with a solid lavender colored fleece material. Try to avoid cottons (they get wrinkly and are too thin to block the light) and try to get a lighter colored fabric so it doesn't look to dreary in your room. I got it cut to the dimensions I measured and also picked up the following: jumbo thumb tacks and decorative ribbon at least one inch wide across and three yards long.

When I got home, I took the cloth and place it against the corner of the window with a thumb tack ready. You might have to readjust your tack places to make sure the cloth is centered perfectly. My window was 62 by 50 inches and I had to use 5 jumbo thumbtacks to keep the cloth in place. After you have enforced the cloth, cut the ribbon in half. Loop one ribbon over the top of the middle portion of one side of the cloth and make sure the back portion and front are even. Reinforce the mid section of the ribbon on the cloth with a thumbtack to the top of your window. Do the same with the other half of ribbon to the other half side of the cloth. Whenever you do want to let some light into your room, you can just use the ribbon to hold up each half side of the cloth creating a fan design. Simply hoist up each half of the cloth and tie the ribbon under them into a bow.

This is just a simple idea that costs less. My total spending was under $10 and only took me less than ten minutes to put together. I have noticed a great difference ever since this project was constructed. I have been able to sleep in on weekends with no problem and the new window covering adds a nice touch of color and design to my bedroom.