Pergolas are a great way to define an outdoor living space with some architectural interest. As a bonus, pergola shades add great design features through color, texture, movement and shade from the mid-day sun. I installed a pergola a few years ago and loved the defined area and recently decided to tackle the pergola shades. I considered three aspects when tackling this project.
FABRIC
Outdoor fabrics come in a variety of colors and patterns. (Watch for sales or coupons from JoAnn Fabrics or Hobby Lobby!) The width of the shade is about one inch smaller than the opening of the pergola slat. The length of the shade is about one and an half times the length of the opening of the pergola slat. After I cut the fabric to size, I finished with a straight edge. The sewing was simple – just a lot of fabric to handle through the machine.
GROMMETS
At each shade-end, I made two openings and used grommets to finish the edge of the openings. Attaching the grommets took a little work but functioned as planned. I just followed the directions on the package. Button holes could have been used as well. (I didn’t have a button holder.). I ordered the Grommets from Amazon. Cable ties are threaded through these openings when attached to the pergola.
CABLE TIES
Cable ties were a simple and inexpensive solution to attach the shades to the pergola. They are easy to attach and easy to remove (simply cut the tie for removal).
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