Blinds, Shades and Shutters - Honeycomb shade repair

I have a honeycomb blind, some of the lift cords were broken. I disassembled the blind and re-threaded it, but when re-installing the lower rail the fabric tore at the bottom pleat.

I'd like to just move the plastic stiffener (slat) up 1 or 2 pleats into a non-torn section, but can't figure out how to open up the honeycomb to allow the slat to be inserted. Can that be done, does it require re-gluing, or cutting, or some other procedure?

Thanks for any advice. Only other option would be to replace the entire fabric, which would be very expensive -- it's an extremely large shade.

I know they can be cut down, so it should be fixable. I just don't know how it's done or if it's a DIY job. You might consider taking it to a place that does blind repair or you can also send it to the company that made it, for repair.

Thanks for the prompt response. As you said, it can be done, so I am hoping someone will post the procedure. Thanks again.

This is how I've seen it done in the shop.

The person has another stiffener slat just like the one in your shade, but it has a slot at one end that holds a razor blade. Obviously not a standard width blade, but a narrow one, almost the same as the slat.
They start it at one end of the fabric, at the new cell they want to open, and push it through. Always looked easy to me when they did it.

I would suggest trying to shorten a new, fresh blade, then tape it securely to the end of the stiffener. Dont make it the entire width of the slat, to be sure it doesnt cut through the outer pleats fabric.