DIY alternatives to blackout blinds/curtains

[hulahoop09]

Hiya

Lo is still in our room as we part co sleep and she sometimes goes in her cot. We plan on putting her cot back in her room this weekend. Our room is quite dark as we have lined curtains and lo prefers sleeping in a darker room. The curtains in her room are not lined and are thin and so it gets bright as soon as the sun is up! Also there is a street light outside her window. I want to get black out blinds our curtains but as she has 2 windows I find it to be working out quite expensive.

I have had people telling me to put blankets or towels up at night over her curtains and was wondering if anyone has ever done this rather than shelling out for the blackout curtains/blinds? Or any other tips?

Thanks!!!

xx

 

[kmumtobe]

We use a thick dark towel, works just fine! That's over black out blinds we bought which are useless!

 

[nugget80]

i used towels over window before i got my act together and went out to get proper blinds...!

 

[xcharx]

Wilkinson sell temporary black out blinds - there made of card lol we put one up & cut it because it wasn't wide enough so from the outside it looks like a sham their £5

Cx

 

[x Michelle x]

I used tin foil! Worked brilliantly! Had to tell the window cleaner why tho incase he thought it was a cannabis farm!!

 

[babydust1990]

Hey, I don't belong over here yet but we got our nursery black out blinds from argos, they were really quite cheap and easy to put up/cut to size if you have weird shaped windows like ours! I think they start at a tenner and to make it better, they do them in a huge range of colours! x

 

[hulahoop09]

Thanks!! I have looked at argos but we are probably looking at about £30-£40 which atm we cant justify spending on something which she will prob not need later on as she changes her mind like the weather!

I may try towels, am worried about the curtain rails falling off with the weight though


xx

 

[zebbed89]

At the moment we have my spare bedsheets folded in half and pegged up as her window is so big and we haven't found any blinds to fit it yet. It works really well. If its not folded in half it still let's a lot of light in. Mollies curtains are a light colour so are crap xx

 

[Sparkes]

My blind broke last week and can't replace it until the end of the week when I get some money. The towel works but you need lots and lots of strong tape- parcel/gafa tape, not sellotape (the wide stuff might work?)

 

[pinkpolkadot]

We just use a black sheet which works for us (LO sleeps 1 hour longer in morning!) but something thicker like a blanket would probs be better

 

[hulahoop09]

Thanks! I am gonna try hanging them from the curtain rail and see how it seems in there.

xx

 

[Alias]

Most fabric places would sell blackout fabric which you can sew to back of curtains, or when visiting my parents they just used tacks to attach it over the window.

 

[Juicybaby88]

We use a thick dark blanket, blocks out the light well! I will invest in some blinds 1 day but never seem to get round to it x

 

[readytotry]

Tin foil and masking tape, so about £2.50.

 

[freckleonear]

We bought a blackout blind this week but then hubby had a go at using bin liners and drawing pins (it's a wooden window frame). Works fine, so we're going to take the blind back for a refund.

 

[Seity]

We still just have some blankets up over the window's in my son's room.

 

[bump#1]

I've sellotaped a towel to the window before

 

[Sherley]

Cardboard wedged in does the trick...

 

[victoriav]

My friend uses those foil blankets you get at the end of a marathon. Very light and cheap-voila!

 

[CakeLoverMum]

Have you tried your local fabric shop? Like you I thought the Argos blackout blinds looked a bit pricey so I visited an independent fabric shop and asked if they had any material they thought would work as a blackout blind - turns out they had special blackout material which cost 5.99/metre (it was quite wide so I only needed just over a metre) which has worked great and is really light, so doesn't strain the pole like a curtain would. I'm sure I should really hem it properly etc but I literally just cut a little hole in each corner and hung it up on the hooks at either end of the pole! Has been working fabulously.

x