Roman Shades Installation Guide

So your stunning roman shades have arrived, pre-assembled and ready to install. You smile at the package affectionately and take a peek inside. Wrapped at one end of your package, you find a little brown box, filled with brackets and screws. Cue the DIY jitters.  

But hey, panic not! This comprehensive installation guide will walk you through each step, with clear, bite-sized instructions supported by images and videos. Trust the experts, and you’ll have your roman shades up and running in no time! So, let’s get straight to it:

Sewn’s Hardware Kit: A Sneak Peek

Our roman shades arrive with all the hardware you need to get them up and shining, including:

CHANNEL TRACK WITH PULL CORD: Our roman shades come fully assembled, pre-mounted on a channel track with Velcro. The beaded pull cord - white or silver depending on your choice at time of ordering - is also already in place. 

PULL CORD ANCHOR: Designed with child and pet safety in mind, the pull cord anchor secures the loose dangling pull cord to the wall. Offering much-needed peace of mind without compromising style, this little accessory is an absolute must for households where curious little hands of babies and mischievous paws of pets are always at play. 

BRACKETS & SCREWS: Completing the kit, you will also find brackets and screws to affix the channel track/roman shade to its designated position on the wall or inside the window recess. A shade of up to 36 inches can be safely secured using two brackets. If you’d like to add another for support, no worries — the kit includes extras. In general, we recommend one bracket per twenty inches, however, more can be affixed depending on the overall size/weight of the roman shade.  

Inside Vs. Outside Mounting: The Key Difference in Installation

Whether you want to mount your roman shades inside the window recess or outside the window frame, the hardware kit remains the same. The only difference lies in how you mount the hardware, especially the positioning of the brackets, as seen in the image below:

FOR INSIDE-MOUNT ROMAN SHADES: Drive the screw into the ‘top arm’ of the L-shaped bracket, securing it to the ‘ceiling’ of your window frame.

FOR OUTSIDE-MOUNT ROMAN SHADES: Drive the screw into the ‘back arm’ of the L-shaped bracket, securing it to the wall above the window trim.

FOR MOUNTING ON THE ROOM’S CEILING: Drive the screw into the ‘top arm’ of the bracket (similar to bracket position for inside-mounted shades), securing it to the ceiling of the room above your window frame.

READ MORE: Inside Mount Vs. Outside Mount Roman Shades

How to Install Roman Shades

Now that you know all about the hardware kit and its components, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get those roman shades installed. Your windows are just four steps away from flaunting their brand-new look: 

MISSION 1: INSTALL THE BRACKETS

Based on your chosen mounting style — inside or outside the window — install the brackets either on the window frame’s ceiling or on the wall/ ceiling above the window trim. To make sure the brackets align in a straight line with flawless precision, mark the screw insertion points with a pencil first. 

As explained above, for shades to be mounted inside the window recess, drive the screws into the ‘top arm’ of the L-bracket, securing the bracket onto the window frame’s ceiling. 

For any outside mounted shades, drive the screws into the ‘back arm’ of the L-bracket, securing the bracket onto the wall above the window trim. 

If you would like to install your outside-mounted roman shades on the ceiling of your room, drive the screws into the ‘top arm’ of the L-bracket, just as you would for inside-mounted shades. The difference is that instead of securing the bracket to the window frame’s ceiling, you’ll be securing it to the room’s ceiling.

MISSION 2: INSTALL THE CHANNEL TRACK

Our channel tracks feature a groove running along its top profile. To attach it to the brackets, line up the groove with the brackets and snap the channel into place, as demonstrated in the video below. 

Listen closely for a satisfying click — which indicates that the channel is locked into the brackets. Once you hear the click, give the track a gentle tug to make sure it’s secure.

MISSION 3: FIX SKEWING ISSUES, IF ANY

While many sellers provide the hardware and roman shades separately, leaving much of the assembly to clients, our shades come pre-set on their channel tracks, ready to install. However, given the long journeys our shades make from our studios to their permanent homes, some settings may ‘move’ in transit and a rare shade may ‘skew’ when installed and operated.  No worries though, this minor issue can be fixed in a jiffy.

All you have to do is adjust the ‘lift line levels’ at the back of your roman shades, and they will soon be hanging in neat straight folds. For step-by-step instructions to achieve this, refer to our blog on ‘How to Fix Skewing Roman Shades’.

MISSION 4: SECURE THE CORD

For child and pet safety, pull cords on shades and blinds should never be left dangling and swaying. For that purpose, we highly recommend using the cord safety anchor provided along with your roman shade, usually already looped around the pull cord at the bottom. This simple accessory ensures that curious kids and playful pets don’t turn cords into objects of their latest tug-of-war game, and helps prevent home accidents and other safety hazards. 

Here’s how to secure the pull cords of your new roman shades properly:

Separate the white upper half of the cord anchor from the clear bottom half with a gentle twist-and-pull motion. Then, in the inner groove of the white part, loop in the cord of your roman shades. Clasp the two halves of the anchor into place by pressing them together until you hear the click sound, just as shown in the video below: 

Once the anchor is linked on the cord, the next step is to choose the perfect spot on the window frame or wall to secure it in place. The ideal spot to affix the cord anchor is where the cord appears neat and taut, but with just the right amount of slack to allow effortless operation of your continuous loop pull cord. 

For inside-mounted shades, the cord anchor would typically be screwed onto the inside profile of the window frame and remain hidden behind the roman shade. For any outside mounted shades, the anchor is typically affixed onto the wall and may remain visible. 

Test the cord tension at various heights and mark your perfect position with a pencil mark. Then, in your final stroke of masterful DIY,  secure the anchor at that position with the screw—and just like that, you’re done!

How to Dismount Your Roman Shades

Now that your roman blinds are sitting pretty and doing their job flawlessly, you might be curious about how you’d take them down—perhaps for a seasonal deep clean, a quick refresh, or even a move to a new space. 

Just like mounting, dismounting our shades is a breeze. Simply press the clear ‘release’ buttons on the front-face of each bracket, and the channel track will pop right out without a fuss. Yes, so easy to install and even easier to detach!

To Sew It All Up

Well, now that you’re all done, enjoy the view. And just in case you face a hiccup along the way, we remain just an email away. Drop us a line and we’ll get back to you in no time!