DIY Window Blind That Pulls Both Ways

Blinds typically open from the bottom to the top, and stack at the top of the window. In the window-covering world, these are known as bottom-up window coverings. Blinds can also be made to open from the top to the bottom, stacking on the window sill. These are known as top-down blinds. They are particularly well-suited to windows that are close to another house because a bottom portion of the window remains covered while the top is open to the light. These two methods are combined to be the top-down, bottom-up blind that can be stacked either at the top of the window or on the sill. The shades are guided up and down over paths defined by fishing line. By following the steps used by drapery construction firms, a knowledgeable home handy-person who is also an advanced level home-decor sewer can make a blind operate in either direction.

1-by-2 board
Eye-screws
Eape measure
Wood saw
Drapery lift cord
1-inch wood screws
Fishing line

Instructions

- 1
  Construct a front-tucked roman blind. Finish the hem and top edge the same with a weight rod in each hem. Sew the ring rows all the way to the top of the shad; the top ring should be sewn just below the weight rod so it is not seen from the front of the blind. Thread the cords through the rings in the typical pattern for a bottom-up window covering. Attach the top-down cords to the rings along the top edge only.
- 2
  Cut a head and bottom rail from a 1-by-2 board with the length of each board equal to the width of the blind less 1/4 inch.
- 3
  Insert two rows of eye-screws into the top rail at the same positions as the rows of rings, one row behind the other, 1/4-inch apart. One row is for the bottom-up cords; one row is for the top-down
  cords.
- 4
  Attach a piece of fishing line to each of the eye-screws on the bottom rail. Cut each of these pieces of line equal in length to the length of the blind plus 8 inches. Attach the bottom rail to the sill with wood screws.
- 5
  Feed the fishing line up through the corresponding row of threaded rings on the blind and attach it to the corresponding eye-screw on the top rail. Continue threading and attaching all the lines.
- 6
  Thread each bottom-up lift cord into the corresponding eye-screw in the front row on the rail and through each eye-screw to the opposite end of the rail. Tie the cords together while the shade is in the down position and trim the excess.
- 7
  Let the blind fall into the open position.
- 8
  Thread each top-down cord into the corresponding eye-screw on the back row of the headrail and in each row across to the opposite end from the terminating bottom-up cords. Tie the cords together and cut off the excess. Pull these cords to raise the shade, release them to let the shade drop and rest on the bottom rail.
- 9
  Install a cord cleat on the window frame at each side of the blind. Attach the top-down cords to the appropriate cleat.
- 10
  Pull the remaining set of cords, which are the bottom-up cords, and the shade will open from the bottom up. Hold these cords in place by winding them around the remaining cord cleat.

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