We’ve been asked more times than we can count whether the Widget can be used for Top Down–Bottom Up (TDBU) Roman shades—and the answer is yes!

TDBU shades let your customers raise the shade from the bottom or lower it from the top, creating that perfect balance of natural light and privacy. They’re a beautiful, functional upgrade to the standard Roman shade, and we’re excited to share how you can make one using the Widget.

Our new TDBU instructions show how to build these shades using:

• A 2-, 3-, or 4-cord Widget for the bottom lift, and
• A 2-cord Widget for the top-down movement.

We recommend that you already be comfortable building standard Roman shades with the Widget before taking on this advanced technique—but if you’re ready, it’s a fun and rewarding project!

You can download the PDF instructions, and we've also added them to the “About Our Product” page on our website.

Happy shade-building—and enjoy experimenting with this elegant new configuration!

It’s official — the number one question we get about shades built with the Widget is:
“What do I do when a cord slips through the orb?”

Hopefully, this hasn’t happened to you (yet!), but it’s a common issue. Signs of slipped cords include a shade that raises unevenly, or one that doesn’t retract all the way to the top. Another clue: when you first installed the Widget, the cord spools were all empty with the shade fully extended. If they’re not uniformly empty after operating the shade and then extending it, that’s a clear indicator that cords have slipped.

The good news? It’s totally preventable.
Once you’ve run the cords through the ladder tape, down through the brass rings, and then through the orbs — tie off your cords! You should tie back to cord above the brass ring with a double half-hitch knot, but the key is: tie it off.

We’ve heard all the reasons not to:

“I want to try it first.”
“I might need to adjust it.”

But trust us — untying and retying is far less heartbreak than having a cord slip up into the Widget or a customer calling to say their shade is lifting unevenly.
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Remember, the orbs are designed to hold cords snugly during assembly — not to withstand the repeated pull of everyday use. A quick knot now saves a big headache later!

At Centurion Roman Shade, we’re always looking for ways to make your shade projects smoother, easier, and more professional. Recently, some of you let us know that the Hem Grips in our Widget Kits weren’t holding up the way they should—sometimes cracking or slipping off the hem bar. We took that feedback seriously and went on the hunt for a better solution.

What’s New with the Hem Grip?

The upgraded Hem Grip has two key improvements:

• Molded corners instead of a seam
  The original design had a hidden seam line halfway around the bottom, which could weaken under stress. The new version has two molded corners designed to take the strain of being bent open and snapped on.
• Full-width gripping ledges
  Each Hem Grip now has 1" deep gripping ledges on both sides. These “click” securely over the fabric-covered 1/8" x 3/4" weight bar we recommend in our instructions, and they won’t slide back off without effort.