How to make an easy cord keeper for your blinds to keep cord strings out of little hands.
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This is one of those posts that will eventually become antiquated, considering that corded blinds are “a thing of the past.” But for now, cords are a problem in many homes that still have corded blinds.
This project is not meant to be a baby proofing product… it’s something I made to keep my older kids from messing around with the cords and to reduce the chances of an issue with the toddler. It is also useful if you have cats who like to bat at the blind cords.
Ideally, we should all immediately replace corded blinds with cordless ones.
Window Blind Cord Safety
Keeping cords away from young children is important. It is possible for a child to die from strangulation in cord blinds, and injuries are common. Now that I have kids, I understand why they’re dangerous.
I have three boys, ages 2 through 8, and they all play with them. I am absolutely baffled because they will sit there and wind them around themselves just for fun. I’ve repeatedly talked to them about the safety issue, but it just doesn’t sink in.
With the injuries and deaths resulting from these blinds, as well as the safer alternatives on the market, it makes sense that as of 2018, corded blinds were banned from production.
Newer blinds are cordless and some windows even have blinds installed inside the panes- those are my DREAM. No dirty blinds, no kids/pets breaking the blinds, and no safety issues! Some day I want a completely smart home with blinds inside the window panes that can be adjusted via my smart devices. I can dream!
Our older new-to-us house has lots of corded blinds. Replacing them is not in the budget right now, and we’d prefer not to immediately replace all of our window treatments with curtains.
While this is NOT going to 100% prevent accidents, I decided to get some of the cords out of the way using some simple blind cord keepers that I made. Because corded blinds have cords throughout, they are still a risk, but my kids are old enough that I feel that most of the risk comes from them playing with the loose cords. And out of sight is out of mind.
For blinds in areas that the kids frequent (like their rooms), it makes sense to remove the blinds and replace them sooner.
I doubt that these will work for the cheaper white blinds as the slats tend to break off too easily. But the heavy duty ones should hold the weight (use your judgement, mine are solid wood).
Creating a Cord Keeper for the Blinds
These were super easy to make.
Supplies
- Strips of cotton fabric
- Snaps and snap pliers: Learn how to use snap pliers here.
How to Make a Cord Keeper for Blinds
I wanted the cords out of the way completely. We bought some brackets for the blind cords at our old house and I felt they were pretty ineffective. I worried that they might make the danger worse, not better. They also left holes in the wall and were a pain to wind the cords around.
So I decided to sew a little pouch that attached to the blinds. This works for my heavy duty blinds, but I’m guessing it won’t work well for the cheaper white blinds that break easily. My cats destroyed those just sitting in the window so they won’t be able to handle the weight of the cords in this case.
Start with a piece of cotton fabric 19″ long x 2.5″ wide. You could make it wider if you want it to be easier to stuff the cords in.
Iron your strip of fabric, then turn over the edges on each long end and press them.
Fold the top and bottom each the same amount and press.
Sew along the top and bottom.
Place the fabric wrong sides facing up and fold the bottom up so it overlaps 5.5″. This creates the pocket. You can iron if you want.
Sew up the sides, going allllll the way to the top of the strip of fabric. You should be sewing down the edges you turned over.
Now you’re finished- you just need to add a male snap to the top of the fabric and female snap to the pocket.
Stuff your cord in, fold the top over the blind slat and snap it on.
Here’s a video of the project:
Please share and pin this post! If you make this project, share it in our Stuff Mama Makes Facebook Group. We have regular giveaways for gift cards to craft stores. You can also tag me on Instagram @doityourselfdanielle; I love seeing everything you make!
