A miniature rollup reed shade

 Today I can show you a working roll up reed shade for the. I still have to make another one for the back window.

I made it out of a reed placemat, which was the inspiration for this project in the first place. The little grass mat is actually a coaster.
Here's a closeup of the front of the shade.

I cut a piece out of the placemat the width of the window and a little longer than the height of the window.
You want it to be a little longer, because the bottom few reeds will work loose and come off immediately. I then glued the loose strings together and to the back of the bottom of the blind, snipping off any loose thread after the glue had dried.
Here's a picture of the back.

First I ran the end of the pull string under the top reed. I used a piece of embroidery floss. I stiffened the end of the thread with glue so I could guide it through the tiny space between the reeds. I then tied it securely to the top reed.

I then ran the thread down the back of the blind, then back up the front, and over the top reed.

If you glance back at the first picture showing the front of the blind, you'll see the string hanging down from the back.
Next I had to hang it.
I cut a strip of basswood the width of the blind, and also several smaller pieces. I glued the small pieces to the strip as shown. I did this so that the pull string could move easily, and also because the original knotted threads of the placemat would have wound up glued to the wood strip instead of the top 2 reeds. This way the shade is more likely to stay put.

You can see what I mean in the picture below. I was just holding it all in place, I hadn't glued it together yet.