The Lampshade Lady Blog

Saturday is The Peru Fair

It's been years since I've done the fair, but so happy the fair is back in the Village of Peru, VT. There's a bus shuttle from Bromley Mountain. Easy pick up and drop off at the gate. I'm set up way to the east gate; looks to be near the music and the potties. All good things. My shop will be closed Saturday. I'll have the good stuff w. me. The weather sounds promising. 9am-4pm this Saturday the 25th.

Lampshade Lady's Much Promised Drum Lampshade Instructions

 

I've been trying to get this post out for a month. I will be sharing some of my drum shade techniques and variations. I am self taught... for better or worse. It's one of those things that you "just figure it out"! I encourage you to experiment and come up with your own techniques and feel free to share them here in my comments at the end of the blog post. I love new suggestions; it's possible to teach an old dog new tricks, sometimes. I will be showing you several ways to finish the drum shade.

As you will see, this post has a lot of info and is a little scattered as there are 3 variations on trimming a drum shade. I think you will get the idea of the many possibliities for trimming; which in the end make the shade!  My Lampshade Lady Book will have more information for the beginner. The instructions here are for folks that have been already been making shades and not to sell my book... but I'd suggest picking it up if you are a beginner- there are so many little details and sources for supplies as they are hard to find in a bricks and mortar store. The trim technique often depends of the weight of fabric and desired finished "look" of shade. I'm sure you have seen drum shades that wrap right around the wire with no decorative finishing as well as shades with a self-trim.

This shade above is made of vintage feedsack cotton and trimmed with a new quilting fabric. I love to mix the new with the old to come up with a fresh clean look. Sometimes it works and sometimes I miss. And sometimes I am designing for me and my house and at others I am designing for my clients that tend to be more conservative here in Southern Vermont. 

1. Iron fabric and place upside down on table.

2. Cut out styrene in a rectangle for the size of shade. Figure out size of shade you would like to make. Many of these shown on this post are 14 inches across the top and bottom and 9 inches high. So I made a rectangle that was 9 inches high x circumference of shade ( 14" x 3.14=43.96 inches plus 1 inch for back seam overlap, TOTAL length 45 inches by 9 inches high. It is easy to make the size that you need by adjusting the rectangle size.

3. Peel paper backing off pressure sensitive styrene and place on back of ironed fabric. Hand press to smooth. If there are any wrinkles, lift fabric and reapply.

 
4. To make drum shade with a self trim, cut as in photo above. If the fabric is light weight, it is nice to fold and glue 1/2" of fabric  on end to inside to make a smooth back edge. See above. I will add glue to this flap and fold to inside of shade.

 

see above, adding glue and folding. Rest of edges are cut out flush to styrene. To make a shade w/o self-trims you would cut the top and bottom with an extra 1/2"  of fabric beyond the styrene, set in wires on edge of styrene and wrap fabric around wires and glue to inside of shade.. See photo below for a shade w/o self trims, fabric is wrapped around the top and bottom wire. This makes a clean, contemporary look.

5. To add top washer wire to shade: Run row of glue along the edge of the top of the shade. Start adding clothespins to hold in place. Walk the wire along the edge of the shade. Continue till end and over lap.
close up detail.
6. To add bottom wire, turn shade upside down and set bottom wire in place. I like to start at the middle and work my way around to the back seam. Add clothespins to hold in place. Make sure wire is RIGHT to the edge of the styrene. It is so EASY TO SCREW UP....and make it slightly off center.... believe me....After setting in place you can go back and readjust placement. It is also helpful to use the middle of the clothespins instead of the edges. Some people like to use the bull dog clips The Lampshop uses. I've never tried, but go for it.
7. Here is the back seam of my green shade. Flip back the seam and use a couple of rows of glue. You can see where the finished edge was folded back. Press onto shade. I like to press the seam from the inside of the shade onto a hard table. If any glue oozes out, pick up with nail or other utensil. I usually go over it again with some hand pressure. As the quick glue dries it gets tacky and makes a nice seal.

8.Here is a self-trim for the purple shade.... a vintage feed sack fabric. It's the perfect weight for making trims. Soft and easy to work with. To make self-trims: Use quick glue (all materials available at The Lampshop  in Concord, NH) , order a roll of 5/16" of pressure sensitive cloth tap, aka BIAS TRIM FOLD BACKER. Choose fabric you will be using for trim. Fabric choice is key here. A really heavy fabric will be too bulky, synthetic fabric won't stick, light to mid weight cotton or linen work best. Cut 2 strips of the pressure sensitive cloth tape (also known of Bias trim fold back) the length of the circumference of shade plus a little extra.

9. Place cloth tape onto backside of fabric. Cut out leaving 1/3" on either side and flush on the ends. Run a couple of beads of glue on fabric and fold back onto the tape. Hand press. Next the instructions divert.... sorry, another option. You can either use a grosgrain first and then add the self-trim OR you can not use a grosgrain and just use this self-trim- see next photo.
10. Ok, here I am trimming the shade w/o the grosgrain. I'm gluing the self trim onto the shade. The finished edge is here and the unfinished is wrapped around to the inside of the shade. I like using this technique. I tried it first one time when none of the grosgrain colors matched my fabric. I think it looks pretty cool. Sometimes it is hard to make the inside look tidy. I sometimes will add a trim to the inside to clean up the rough edges.
10. A little trick of the trade.... at times when making trims the fabric will not be long enough. So, I make my trims and splice them together overlapping just a smidgen and continue gluing trim onto shade. See below photo for example.
11. Adding glue to inside of shade. Fold inside and tuck up under wire. You may need to make a little snip at wire. 
Here is a close up of another shade with a self-trim w/o using grosgrain. It is a vintage cotton trim with a Japanese Rayon print. The rayon actually laminated really well; it was super textured and made a great seal w/ styrene. Really shinny fabrics do not laminate well.
Here is the inside of the last shade.
Here is the finished inside of the green dot shade. I added a fun dot trim to tidy up the edge. You can see I also did it on the vintage fabric shade below.

 
If finishing shade WITH GROSGRAIN,  Cut 2 strips of 5/8 inch grosgrain..... another variable. Cut the same length as the self-trims. Half the grosgrain will set onto the face of the shade and the rest will glue inside shade. Use clothes pins to hold as it glues. I usually use only 2 here and move them along as I add the grosgrain.

You can see I've used several shades here. I made several shades last week using all of the trims techniques I am showing here.... .
8. Add glue to a few inches of the backside of self-trim. Continue till they meet. I like to cut the ends on the diagonal and over lap 1/8" or so. Make self-trims as shown before; this time both edges will be glued to the back side of cloth tape.
 Add self-trim onto grosgrain by gluing a few inches at a time. Continue till end and over lap a tad. 
Voila! The fabric is Susan Sargent fabric. I love how this one lights up!!!!
And this one is finished, too!
Another Susan Sargent Fabric, oh how I will miss them!

To finish up this post I'd say have fun, experiment, find cool fabrics to use. Drum shades are easy once you get the basics down. And it is easy to have them come out off centered!!! So watch for that. Have your electrician hard wire the shade for a pendant in the kitchen, office or dinning room. They are great hanging and a heck of a lot less expensive than a fancy chandelier, especially if you made it your self.

Note on diffusers: I personally dislike them..... so google them online and you'll find out lots of info. I'd personally rather get used to the light bulb than see the plasticy round disk. I think you'll find sources online.

My Brimfield Flea Market Finds

 I'm just home from a whirlwind overnight at Brimfield. I needed a break from work and decided I deserved a couple days away and a night at a Bed and Breakfast. My friend Cheryl was raving about a B&B just 4 doors away from the Flea Market. It was a nice treat to the usual fare of the run of the mill motels in Sturbridge and a retreat from the blasting thunderstorm early Wednesday am. I arrived 9ish after a 3 hour drive down Tues am from Vermont. I don't like the big rush of the opening hours of the markets and most of what I buy the fancy antique guys don't want.

I love, love these lights. I didn't buy them but think they are wicked cool.Guess they could put a lampshade maker right out of business! The mercury glass ones are divine; I must have a place for one. Maybe next year. The wire cage ones are super cool, too.

I did buy all these affordable vintage lamps. Nothing too fancy but they work well with my lampshades. I love this cast metal one in front. Blue mirror glass pair is sweet. They're all pretty nice. Must have found almost 2 dozen lamps! I think I have lots of luck finding lamps especially as dealers usually wrap the cords around the stem of the lamp and make them look extra bad....I cut most of them off this am.
Close up of the blue glass and crystal lamps.

Super cast iron lamp. Photo doesn't really show it off, but nice, nice!!

Here is part of the fabric finds. Small ticking pieces, very special blue French Floral, funky cotton, linen grain sacks,  society silk in Autumn colors. Some nice curtain panels, odds and ends, French Antique fabrics. I'm so happy to have some new inspiration for new fall projects.

Isn't this darling? A little, sweet pottery lamp. Perfect color and so dear. There it sat at after the rush of the opening of New England Motel Show. The guys did say I missed a nice depression glass lamp...oh well.
Amazing my i phone gets these nice pictures. Whites are so hard to shoot. Nice thick embroidery round and a well done French Knotted/embroidery round.
Close up of the French Florals. Look forward to ironing these darlings and planning their best uses. Might have to stash these away...

 
Ran into my lampshade student, Maureen. Thank you for the chair and the shade of your tent! Maureen is set up at Central Park next to Dusty's and across from Sue and her wonderful booth of trims. It was a pair of hot, sunny days Tues and Wed. I'm not much of a hat person, but sure glad I had something to get out of the sun. After Tuesdays shopping I headed back to my buddies Philippa and Mary in Sheltons to crash in a lawn chair behind their booth. Feet up and entirely wiped out..... dearest Mo next door said, judy, do you want a cold beer...... omg. coors light never tasted better! Thanks Mo!
These beauties aren't my style, but sure had to take the photo!

Yes, It's always good to get away and even better getting home again. Shopping is hard work. All the decision making gets easier for me. I can edit fast cruising the fields....although it would be easier if my pockets were deeper... but maybe it wouldn't be so much fun finding the great deals. It's always so pretty driving home to Vermont, the hills and fields of Southern Vermont are beautiful! All those long distance vistas and open fields.'

Next up for me  is the Peru Fair, Sept 25th in Peru Vermont. I haven't done this show in years, maybe 10! My friend Sarah is helping to market the show and thought it might be fun to give it a try again. The fair takes place in the village of Peru. Lots of great vendors, Pig Roast, Parade, Music and more. 

This weekend is The Washington Country Cheese Tour . From all accounts it's a tour not to be missed. Visit area Cheese Farms in our area. The Consider Bardwell Farm is part of the tour w/ their award winning Rupert Cheese! Lots of good snacks and cheese to buy. Sat and Sun 10&11th  10am-4pm.