This post contains PR Products Where would we be without lamps? Not only do they add interest and texture to a room but in the evening they add to the the atmosphere too. Changing the feel of a room with the click of a switch. Come on we all love a good lamp. But without fail, especially on the high street, the shades tend to be a bit meh! The base can be wonderful but let down by a cheaply made and poorly put together shade. The thing is though that it doesn’t have to be that way. You can easily take the shade you have already, dismantle it and give it a new lease of life. Here’s my simple guide on how to make a drum lampshade.
The success or for that matter the failure of a base and shade combo ultimately comes down to the shade. Wrong size, Wrong shape. Wrong colour etc. So rather than buy new why not make your own. There are so many second hand sites now where you can buy offcuts of designer fabrics for a fraction of the price that it’d be silly not to give it a go. And there’s something truly satisfying when you stand back and admire your handy work once completed too.
What you need to make your own lampshade
Fabric Of your choice
Scissors
Stanley Knife
A ruler
Old Store or Credit Card
Double Sided Self Adhesive red Tesa Tape
10 Steps to Make Your Own Lampshade
step 1
First of all you need to either buy a pair of lampshade rings. Or if like me you have an old shade to upcycle you will need to strip off the current fabric. And then give the rings a good clean too. It’s simply a case of running a Stanley knife around the inner edge of each ring. And then pulling away any fabric left stuck to the rings themselves. All you have to do once the fabric is completely removed is to them give the rings a good clean with soapy water and a cloth. Try to keep as close to the edge of the rings when cutting the fabric and liner though as we are going to use this to make a template for the new shade.
step 2
Once your rings are clean place them to one side. Then grab the now redundant fabric and liner that you’ve cut away and carefully, once again using the Stanley knife, cut along the seem where it joins. And then carefully open it out so that it’s flat. This will be our template for the new lampshade. Lay it flat down on the reverse of your fabric and then draw around it making sure to first think about lining it up with the pattern if you’re not using plain fabric. Then draw another line 2cm from the first line and then cut the fabric out. You can also at this point make the shade taller or shorter than the original. Just remember to have that 2cm extra to all the sides.
Step 3
Pop your fabric to one side for a moment as we now need to cut out the shade backing material. I’m using an amazing gold lining from Dannells. It is really stunning. However they have lots of different finishes and colours to choose from so you really can do completely you. Now grab the old lining you cut from the original shade and measure the length and add 2cm. This will be the overlap when you start assembling the shade. Lay out the shade lining face down and transfer this measurement to the backing paper along with the height that you want you shade to create a rectangle. And then using your stanley knife and metal ruler carefully cut it out. Don’t forget to put your cutting mat underneath!!
Step 4
OK, we are ready to stick the lining to the outer fabric. Lay your fabric face down on a surface big enough so that it’s wrinkle free and totally flat. And then gently peal back around 10cm of the backing paper on the reverse of the liner. The reverse of the liner is extremely sticky and we are going to basically bond the fabric to the liner.
Step 5
Now marry up the lining with the long pen lines on the back of the fabric that we drew earlier. Remember though that the lining width is now 2cm wider than original outline so please factor this in to your lining placement. Now smooth down the sticky edge we released onto the fabric. Don’t worry if you don’t get it lined up perfectly the first time. Just gently remove the fabric and try again. Once you are pretty sure that your liner is nicely placed then put your hand between it and the fabric and take hold of the bent back lining paper. Gently pull it revealing a little more of the sticky backing and smooth it down from the top with your other hand. Keep repeating this process until you have removed the backing paper and all the fabric is stuck to the liner.
Step 6
Now we’re going to trim the fabric along the long sides a little. About 2cm from one end cut down towards the backing by 1cm and then trim the rest of the length to 1cm. This will leave a notch of fabric at one end as seen in the picture above. Repeat this with the other side so you have a pair of notches facing one another. There is an important reason for this which we will come too later.
Step 7
Now turn the whole thing over so that the fabric is face down on the bottom. And then at the opposite end of the notches stick a length of Double Sided Self Adhesive red Tesa Tape along the edge and then remove the protective layer of tape and fold over the fabric to stick it down. This will prevent any frayed fabric showing on the outside of your lamp. You can see from the picture above that the metallic backing I’m using also has a protective layer to prevent it scratching. Make sure if you’re using the same to peal this back before adding the Tesa Tape.
Step 8
Now pop the backing and fabric to one side for a moment but do keep hold of the Tesa Tape. And whilst you’re at it go grab your lampshade rings. And then stick the tape around the outside of each ring. But don’t remove the protective backing just yet as the rings will stick to everything believe me!
Step 9
We are just about ready to now start on assembling the lampshade. Lay you fabric and liner out with the fabric face down ready to start. At this point though. If you are, like me using a metallic backing for the inside of your lampshade now is the time to remove its protective layer. It’s very easy to do, just carry on pealing it back from the earlier stage and then pop it in the bin.
Step 10
Now apply a piece of seam stick across the whole width on top of the end with the fabric turned under. And remove the backing tape too. This will stick the two ends on you’re lampshade together once it’s attached to your rings.
Step 10
Now we are ready to fit the rings to the fabric and liner. Carefully peel away the tape from each ring and then position them onto the liner at the opposite end to the turned in fabric. You need to place them onto the liner so that the outside edge or each ring lines up with the outside edge of the liner. Remember to double check that you have the side with the bulb holder positioned the right way up too.
Step 11
Now slowly start to roll the rings along the edges simultaneously. Making sure to keep each ring in line with the edge of the liner. Roll the rings a small amount, check you’re still in line and then roll again. Keep going until you’ve made your way around the whole ring. And low and behold slowly but surely a lampshade starts to appear in front of your eyes.
Step 12
Now it’s time to start tucking the fabric in which for me is the most fun part as the lampshade really takes on a truly professional look at this point. Starting with the end without the extra tab of fabric lay the lampshade onto a clean surface. And then using an old store, debit or points card use the corner to gently push the excess fabric between the lampshade ring and the lining. Start with the top ring as this is the easiest to do and gives you a chance to get the hang of it. Work a little at a time and keep moving your lampshade so the area you’re working on is flat on the surface. The last part to tuck in is the tab you created, it’s important to have that extra bit of fabric as it allows it to cover the fabric that’s already tucked in there.
Step 13
Once the top fabric is all nicely tucked away then it’s time to start on the bottom ring. This is a little more tricky because it has support bars coming out from the centre where the bulb ring sits. Start tucking in the fabric in exactly the same way as the top ring. The only difference being that when you come to a support bar take your scissors and snip a line in the fabric in line with the centre of the bar. And then tuck it into the ring either side of the bar for a neat finish.
Step 14
And there you have it. All you need to do know is fix it in place on your chosen lamp. You can even use then for ceiling lamps. They really are easy to make and it’s enjoyable too. What do you think? Are you going to give it a go? I made 3 in an afternoon for my sitting room makeover. They’re that easy to make! Please do leave a comment below if you have any questions or for that matter just want to share the love.
NB. As mentioned this post contains PR Products from both Dannells and Black Edition By Romo. Fabrics featured are Nuala Orion and Zola Orion. All thoughts and processes are my own.
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