We have a great covered patio in our backyard, but it's really hard to enjoy when the sun is glaring in your eyes. I wanted to get something that could block the sun when I needed it, but would easily store away when I didn't. When I went out to buy some outdoor roll-up blinds, I found that all the ones that were big enough for my patio were crazy expensive. So, I decided to make some myself.
I got some shade cloth, 1/2 inch PVC pipe (stay with me, here) and two copper pipe straps. Lowes sells shade cloth for a couple of dollars a linear foot, by about 5 feet wide, in a few differet colors.
First, I stitched a hem in the sides of the shade cloth so the edges wouldn't be all ratty, and then I stitched a hem in the top and bottom of the shade cloth, big enough to slide the PVC through.
Then, I cut the PVC about 2 inches longer than the width of the hemmed shade, so that I would have room to mount the shade with the pipe straps.
I hung the shade cloth on the PVC, and then put another piece of PVC through the bottom hem so that it wouldn't flap in the wind. You could also use something much thinner for the bottom, like a small wood dowel, but I had a bunch of PVC lying around so I used that (I like PVC a lot.).
I got some shade cloth, 1/2 inch PVC pipe (stay with me, here) and two copper pipe straps. Lowes sells shade cloth for a couple of dollars a linear foot, by about 5 feet wide, in a few differet colors.
First, I stitched a hem in the sides of the shade cloth so the edges wouldn't be all ratty, and then I stitched a hem in the top and bottom of the shade cloth, big enough to slide the PVC through.
Then, I cut the PVC about 2 inches longer than the width of the hemmed shade, so that I would have room to mount the shade with the pipe straps.
I hung the shade cloth on the PVC, and then put another piece of PVC through the bottom hem so that it wouldn't flap in the wind. You could also use something much thinner for the bottom, like a small wood dowel, but I had a bunch of PVC lying around so I used that (I like PVC a lot.).
After the shade cloth was on the PVC curtainrod, I mounted it to the patio roof with the pipe straps. You could also use a curtain mounting kit, but the pipe straps are only a few cents each, so I went with those.
The shade stays rolled up out of the way when we're not using it, but it's easily rolled out when we need it. I used strap of double sided velcro to hold it in place while it's rolled up, but you could also use a string, or even mount hooks to rest it in.
You can see in this picture that the PVC continues past the shade cloth because I ended up using the PVC from the shade cloth for my patio misting system that I put in later.
The patio shade cost about $10 to make, and it took about 2 hours, because I stitched the hems by hand, and I'm not exactly a stellar seamstress...
You can see in this picture that the PVC continues past the shade cloth because I ended up using the PVC from the shade cloth for my patio misting system that I put in later.
The patio shade cost about $10 to make, and it took about 2 hours, because I stitched the hems by hand, and I'm not exactly a stellar seamstress...
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