The Abel range from Make My Blinds is a made-to-measure roman blind offered in 11 colours, starting from £9.97. A roman blind raises into soft horizontal pleats of fabric and lowers to a flat, full-length panel, giving a softer, more upholstered look than a roller or venetian. The Abel cloth is a light-filtering fabric, so it diffuses daylight and gives privacy rather than blocking light out, and the range spans calm neutrals through to a handful of stronger colours.
Who it suits
Roman blinds suit living rooms, bedrooms and dining rooms, where the folded fabric reads as a soft furnishing and sits comfortably alongside curtains and upholstery. The Abel range works well where you want warmth and texture at the window rather than the flat, functional look of a roller. The neutral colourways settle quietly into most schemes, while the stronger shades let the blind act as an accent.
Because the Abel fabric is light-filtering, it softens and diffuses daylight rather than blocking it - good for a sitting room you want to keep bright but private, less suited to a bedroom where you need full darkness. If blackout matters, a roman in a blackout-lined cloth or a blackout roller would serve better. Roman blinds also fold their fabric into pleats that sit proud of the window, so they are less ideal for steamy kitchens and bathrooms, where the fabric can hold moisture and is harder to keep fresh than a wipe-clean blind.
The colours
11 colours available
The palette balances neutrals against a set of clear accent shades. The soft, easy-to-place tones come first - Oatmeal and Oyster in the creams, Otter and Smoke in the greys - giving versatile options that suit most rooms. Against those sit the colours: Danube and Teal in the blues, Saffron in yellow, Rust in orange, and the deep Scarlet red, plus the fresh Apple and the cool Slate. The spread means you can keep things quiet with a neutral or make the blind a focal point with one of the brights, all within the same cloth and finish. Colour on a screen rarely matches colour filling a window, so order a sample before committing to a full-sized blind, especially for the stronger shades.
Price by your dimensions
Enter your window size. We round up to the next standard size, which matches how the retailer actually quotes you.
Price around its usual level (checked since 2 Jun).
The range opens at an accessible entry point for a made-to-measure roman blind. The accent colours carry no premium over the neutrals, so the choice is about the look you want rather than the budget, and the final figure depends mainly on the width and drop of your window.
How it compares
Against a roller blind, the Abel roman gives a softer, more decorative finish - folds of fabric rather than a flat panel - at the cost of a little more bulk at the top of the window when raised. Against a venetian, the roman offers no tilt control, but it brings warmth and texture a slat blind cannot, and it diffuses light evenly across the cloth. Within the roman category, the breadth here means one fabric covers both quiet neutral briefs and bolder accent windows without changing product. For a room where you want softness and a choice of colour, the Abel range covers the requirement; for full darkness or a damp room, a different blind suits better.
A note on care
Roman blinds are fabric and want gentle handling rather than wiping. Dust them regularly with a soft brush or a vacuum upholstery attachment to stop dust settling into the pleats, and spot-clean marks with a damp cloth and a little mild detergent rather than soaking the fabric. Raise and lower the blind smoothly so the pleats keep their shape, and keep it out of consistently damp rooms, where fabric is harder to keep fresh than a hard slat or roller.
Likely the same fabric, at other retailers
Abel roman blinds are sold under the same name by more than one UK retailer, and the price scales identically across window sizes - a strong sign it is the same fabric from the same supplier:
- Make My Blinds this page from £9.97
- Swift Direct Blinds from £11.00
We match these on the shared name and an identical price curve, not an independent inspection, so treat it as likely the same fabric rather than confirmed - and check the specification and colour at each retailer before buying.