Skylight blinds are expensive but useful when you need to open and close your skylight cover regularly. However, if you need to cover your skylight for long stretches of time, such as during the summer to block out the heat of the sun, then an interior skylight cover is a more affordable solution for you. Especially since it is very easy to make yourself.
All you need to make your skylight cover is a clothing cover, such as a blanket, throw or silk fabric, as well as curtain ring clips and nails or ornamental hooks. If you want your skylight sunshade to block heat or cold, be sure to choose thick clothing for your cover. However, if you want the light to penetrate through the skylight cover, choose a thin fabric, so that light can shine through while also painting the room with the beautiful hues of the skylight sunshade.
You will need to get on a ladder that lifts you up to your skylight. Having someone there to hold the ladder as you work is highly recommended. Begin by measuring your skylight width and length. Next climb off the ladder to do some calculations for your skylight cover. It will be hung on nails or ornamental hooks. You’ll want to place the nails or ornamental hooks on your ceiling around your skylight at a distance of 10 inches one from the other, more or less. Therefore, divide the width and length to see how many nails or ornamental hooks can be fitted in, with a distance of close to 10 inches between them.
Next, climb on the ladder again and install the nails or ornamental hooks for your skylight cover. Again, be sure someone is holding your ladder as you work. Take your time and be careful. Standing on a tall ladder can cause giddiness. So be sure you are up to the task of installing your own cover.
After the nails or ornamental hooks are in place, spread your skylight cover clothe or blanket on the floor. Using a thread trace out the width and length of your cover on the clothing, by simply resting the thread over the clothe cover. You’ll have leftover fabric on the sides, and that’s perfect for a festooning effect on your interior cover.
Next, attach the curtain ring clips where your nails would be along the thread, repeating the exact measurements you used in inserting your nails or ornamental hooks around the skylight.
To make it easier to hang the skylight cover, place the curtain ring clips a little further outside the thread that you used to mark your cover dimensions on the fabric. This way, when you hang it will balloon a little below the skylight, pulling down on the curtain ring clips and keeping them in place. The extra fabric on the sides of your skylight sunshade will droop beautifully.
