a.k.a. "how to recover a pleated lampshade!"
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| before |
I have been loving me some thrifty finds lately! And sometimes they need a little TLC...
and here we find the Goodwill lampshade. It's rough guys, I know. But, it came attached to a sweet little blue lamp that I just couldn't pass up. I took the lampshade and thought about just tossing it, but then, that wouldn't be very crafty of me, would it??? :)
Here is the after, and then below, I'll give you the tute.
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| after |
So how'd I do it? Simple ladies, very simple.
Step 1: Cut off that hideous pleated, dry rotted cover. Fast.
Keep it in one piece so you have a pattern.
Step Two: Lay pattern on your fabric and cut around it, with about an inch allowance to fold over the top and bottom of the shade with enough to hold in place and glue. I was lucky enough to have pulled this UGLY lovely vest out of a donate pile at a friend's house and salvaged it for a project because I like the texture and color of the fabric. It came in handy today!
I then folded it in half and cleaned up the edges since it looked like my two year-old had cut it!
Step 4: Using the seam I already had from the vest, glue one edge of the fabric down the length of the shade matching up the seam of the plastic already there. (That was harder than I thought to put into words... does that make any sense at all?)
I didn't glue right on the seam because I knew that I wanted to be able to tuck the unfinished edge underneath when I got it all the way around and glue the seam over it for a finished look.
Step Five: I wrapped the fabric around the shade, smoothing it down and tugging and pulling a little to make sure it was nice and tight, then trimmed the fabric around the top and bottom one more time before gluing all around the edges of both the top and bottom.
Step Six: Add trim, paint, bling, embellishments, nothing, etc. Whatever you want! I decided I wanted a shabby chic, handpainted look for mine. I've been seeing vintage grain sacks and Parisian inspired fabrics all over and I thought I'd try a little for myself!
I used a piece of art from Target that I found at a yard sale for $4 a few weeks ago to copy from and also a great blog post I saw here about painting some slipcovers for your dining chairs that I am SO going to tackle this fall! I found this great deal on brushes at Wal-Mart (this was under $5) and Americana Burnt Umber Acrylic Paint.
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| Yard Sale Target Art |
And once again here she is!
Linking up:
Just Something I Whipped Up @ The Girl Creative
Making the World Cuter Monday
Craft-O-Maniac Monday
Between Naps on the Porch: Metamorphosis Monday
Tutorials & Tips Tuesday at Home Stories of A to Z
Thrifty Treasures at Southern Hospitality Blog
Nifty, Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm
Open House @ On Sutton Place
Thrifty Decor Chick
20 comments:
This lamp is GORGEOUS! I just remade a lamp with sort of the same idea, but I love yours so much more! :)
Love this! Saw you on Tutes and Tips :) I have some bla lampshades...I'm definitely going to try this with them! Thank you for the inspiration!
Maureen
http://www.releasemecreations.com
WOW! Great transformation! Love it... and your lamp base is darling too :) Great Job!
You did a GREAT job hand painting the shade! I'm very impressed! Letters are hard for me to paint freehand - the first letters are never the same size as the last!! I redid a couple of lamps last spring - using a stencil!! Come visit and check them out!
And.... I'm your newest follower!
Hugs ~~ Suz
inspiringcreativeness.blogspot
You did a really good job on this! It looks awesome!
That looks fabulous, Alison! I'm impressed that the fabric you used is from an old vest. Love the design you did on it - such an expensive look for pennies!
visiting from Met Monday
Your tutorial makes me think I could do this! I have a shabby shade that would be perfect to try this on....thanks!
I love it. I have that same art piece in a very samll size. I also have a very sad looking shade that needs this very same look. Now I know how to update her for our bedroom. Thanks for sharing.
I LOVE this lampshade! You must share this post at my Shabby Shares Saturday link party at http://rustic-crafts.com :)
Great job! LOVE it!
Kelli @ TheTurquoisePiano.blogspot.com
Thanks everyone! I'm glad you enjoyed it!! :)
Wonderful lampshade. Appreciate the tutorial.
Love it! I have a hideous pleated lampshade hanging out on my porch. It has the bonus extra feature of fringe hanging from the bottom rim, too. These are definitely the kinds of things you need to cut off fast. ;) Thanks for the inspiration!
Thank you for coming to the Open House party and sharing this tutorial. Love the way you did the script. Your blog looks wonderful too!
So much character now. Love it!
great job. thank you for sharing . i will try later ,
julie
What would you do with a lamp shade just like that but with the plastic in tatters? Ribbon wrap or what?
Im going to paint a fabric lampshade in burnt umber fabric paint. I had already painted a clay flower pot in this color. It had a flaw in the top of the lamp fabric torn. I pinned a bumble bee jewelry pin over flaw. Im writing there s always plan b across e front thanks for inspiring me to finish it
In the 70’ I worked in a lighting store. Some lampshades simply could not be replaced. If they were wire framed, I could replace the fabric portion. It is necessary to carefully remove the outer fabric , many times silk that had shredded, and use it for a pattern. The most difficult thing was to find replacement fabric as our small town carried very little, especially at reasonable .
Replacement was outer fabric first, extending it over the top and bottom edges. Carefully slash around the metal stretchers across the top. Replace the lining next, being sure that it is a taut fit on inner seams—research if necessary and reapply. The top and bottom of lining will come up and over the edge of outer fabric to be hidden by trim in finishing.
Cut double fold bias strips and wrap them, at top, around each of the metal stringers and tacked/basted on outside top. Trim as necessary. This is where it is crucial to make sure you slits on lining -to go around stringers- are not too deep. If you fabric allows without discoloration, use Fray Check.
Last, apply bias strips for trim at top and bottom, hand stitches and stretched as need be to give a smooth piece, You can be creative on top....double bias, swags, etc. This trim hides the hand stitching on the top and bottom. If you can locate a trim that works, by all means use it.
I once replaced a lampshade cover that had fringe on the bottom and was scalloped in design.
Why recover and not replace? An antique lamp is designed with a specific size and shape of shade which may not adapt to something available in retail stores. Also, if you use a synthetic polyester it may have a longer life.
IF YOU ARE SEEKING A NEW SHADE FOR A LAMP: ALWAYS take the lamp base with you to the store! There may be another shape or coloration on hand, the harp may be easily changed there to make a shade work
The shade should end at the bottom near the top of the lamp. I personally prefer a 2/3 to 1/3 proportion....the 2/3 being the base. I often applied this analogy in my clothing alterations business— 2/3 on bottom and 1/3 on top made for a good, classical spacing.
Naturally you don’t want to spend a lot of money on a replacement shade for a lamp that was inexpensive to begin with-this was the dilemma customers had when seeking a new shade -but sometimes nothing else will work. In the late 60’s i antique finished a floor lamp for my mom only to find out there was one shade that would work and it was pricey for the time! She ultimately purchased it!
Here it is in 2020 and still a great idea even for a man doing it Thanks
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