I have been wanting to try my hand at a lampshade makeover for a while now. I got some tiny paper lampshades to practice on. They are sized to fit a chandelier or candle lamp.
Above is similar to the size and shape I got except mine was white. This looks way cooler because it has the adhesive already on it! I had to apply the adhesive myself on the one I got.
If you don’t want to take apart your lampshade to make a pattern you can get a large piece of sketch or craft paper and lay the shade on its side. Take a pencil and start at a seam so you have a good starting and stopping point. Roll the lampshade and trace from seam to seam. Do that on the bottom as well then make the sides.
Frankly, whenever I have tried this, mine always come out a little odd and deformed which is why I just took apart one the lampshades. Much easier for me!
I like to add lightweight interfacing to the back of my fabric before I get started.
Above is the kind I have at home and use. Another option is to use another piece of cotton fabric behind the original one to make it more stable.
The “spread joy” pattern is available in my Etsy shop . It is a printable PDF pattern that includes illustrated stitch instructions. You can click HERE to see the shop listing.
The spontaneous stitches are so much fun. It really is so relaxing just letting your fingers just so their own thing.
The laying of the fabric onto the lampshade took some playing around with. The temporary fixative was so helpful since you can stick, and re-stick until you have everything the way you like it. I started at one seam side. There was enough excess fabric that I could fold 1/2 inch under, press and sew down the side that would be showing to make it look neater. For extra reinforcement, I added some hot glue inside the seam.
Above is the fixative I like to use.
Thrift store, here I come! Maybe I’ll find a tiny chandelier and make a few more.
These little ones are so fun ( and fast) to experiment on!
Thanks for stopping by!
Warmly,
Pam