Do you have Venetian blinds that are too long for your windows? Are they hanging down and bunching up at the bottom? In this step-by-step guide, we will show you how to shorten them to be your ideal length. It doesn’t matter if you have faux wood or PVC, we have you covered.
It’s a lot simpler than you think, all you need are a few tools and some patience.
How Can I Avoid Having To Shorten Venetian Blinds
The only way of getting Venetian blinds to fit your window frame perfectly is by buying custom blinds.
This will involve hiring a window treatments company that will come into your home, measure each window and order the blinds from one of their suppliers to be custom made to your specifications. This will ensure they come pre-cut to your desired length.
Unfortunately, this is expensive and why so many people buy off-the-shelf Venetian blinds..
Venetian blinds come in set sizes and as a result it is highly unlikely that your windows will be the same size.
Obviously, the width is crucial unless you want to start sawing down the blind, but adjusting the height/drop of the blind is actually a very simple process.
Tip:
Always buy a blind that is one size too long, so you can adjust them easily by removing some of the slats that are bunching up at the bottom.
Tools You Will Need To Shorten Your Venetian Blinds:
You won’t need a lot, but having the following tools to hand will definitely make the job quicker and easier:
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A screwdriver
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A tape measure
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A pair of scissors
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New blinds (if needed)
How To Shorten Venetian Blinds – The 5 Simple Steps
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Step one is installing the Venetian blinds as normal. By installing the blinds, you will see that the blinds are too long and then know exactly how much you need to shorten the blinds by. This is a much simpler way than awkwardly holding the blind up and measuring it. Besides, once the brackets are in place, it becomes very easy to remove the head rail from the brackets and put it back once you have made the adjustments.
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Pull the pull cords to lower the blind fully and gauge how many excess slats you need to remove. Ideally, you want the slat that is level with the window sill to be your bottom slat (once you have adjusted it). If you go up about 1/4 inch, this will avoid the slats bunching when you have finished. It is helpful to mark the string close to where you would like the end of the blinds (bottom rail) to be, this will make it easier in step 4.
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Lift the bottom of the Venetian blind up, so you can see underneath. You will see there are some plugs that are designed to keep the slats in place and avoid them falling off the bottom. You will need to remove the plugs by levering them off using a screwdriver – be very careful not to slip and hurt yourself in the process. Put the bottom rail plugs to one side as you will need these again once you have made the adjustments.
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When the plugs are removed, remove the bottom rail and you will see there are knots on the strings which also stop the slats from falling off the bottom. You will need to cut just above the knots in order to remove the slats from the bottom of the blind. You can now cut the string up to where the bottom slat will be (where you made the mark in step 2) to remove the excess cord.
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The final step is to thread the string back through the holes in the last slat and bottom of the blind, tie a knot in the string (ensure the knots are even) and then replace the plugs from step 3 (you can use a rubber mallet if you struggle to push them in). You can now put the headrail back into the brackets and check the length of the blind. If the blind is not level or is still too long, you can repeat the process until you have the length you want.
There you have it – a simple guide to shortening blinds. It’s really not as difficult as it seems and only takes a few minutes to do. This process should be the same no matter what type of Venetian blind you have from faux wood blinds to PVC.
