The Lampshade Lady Blog

DIY Lampshades, The Lampshade Lady's Guide to Lighting up Your Life

It's been eons since I've posted a DIY Lampshade Project! I thought I'd share one today with you. I found this sweet cotton vintage French fabric recently and thought it was a good one to demo. It's a medium light weight 100% cotton. Hope you enjoy the process. I am not doing workshops these days....too busy trying to keep up! My book, The Lampshade Lady's Guide to Lighting up Your Life is out of print and I am out of copies but is available used on Amazon. I have bought the rights to it and may get it re-printed. Fortunately, it's not too dated except some of the resources. Here are the instructions.

Materials:

1/2 yd cotton or linen

1 galvanized wire frame- my demo is a hex bell 5" top x 8" bottom x 6" high

quick glue and squeeze bottle or similar craft glue that dries clear

a bunch of good quality clothes pins

1/4' pressure sensitive styrene

scissors

ultra thin sharpie

pressure sensitive cloth tape ~3/8" or so. The Lamp Shop calls this Bias Fold Trim Backer.

5/8" cotton/rayon grosgrain.

NOTE: start with a small size lampshade. You'll thank me! They are MUCH easier and faster. Don't expect your first one to be perfect. It will be good but they keep getting better. I generally get most of my materials at The Lamp Shop in Concord, NH. Make sure NOT to buy poly ribbon. It will not glue for the life of you!!! Also you will find more tips my my archives here on my blog. There's lots to learn...it's been 30 plus years since my kitchen table lampshade start and I'm still learning new things. Have fun!

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STEP 1- Make pattern. Use thin sharpie and mark around the outside of the wire. Then cut out.

 

STEP 2 - Use pattern and make 5 more panels. I'm making a pair so I'll make 12 total.

STEP 3- Iron fabric. Pull paper backing off the styrene panel and set onto back of fabric. Cut out right along the styrene edge.

STEP 4 Trim panel to fit exactly. I usually have to go back several times to get it to fit perfect. You want the panels to abut and not overlap as they are set onto the frame. See step 8

STEP 5 - run bead of glue around the 4 edges of the first panel. Less is more!

STEP 7 set panel on top of glue and secure with clothes pins.


STEP 8 - finish putting all styrene / fabric panels onto wire. You can see here how the panels should fit. Takes practice to get them this smooth. Trim up if needed. Easiest to do now that later.

STEP 9 - I like to use a long ribbon to hold everything in place while drying. It takes 20 minutes at the most.

STEP 10 Make vertical trims. Cut 6 stripes from the cloth tape also known as pressure sensitive cloth tape or bias  trim fold backer. Make them same height as the shade and set onto the back of the fabric. Cut out saving about 1/3" on either side of the tape.

STEP 11- Add glue and fold back onto the tape.

STEP 12- Continue adding glue to the other side and fold back onto the tape.

STEP 13- hand press to make sharp edges.

Step 14- fold in half with the back side inside the fold. This will help the trim glue onto the shade.

STEP 15- add glue to back side of the trim

STEP 16- set onto the shade rib. Hand press to secure. Remove any excess glue with fingernail.

STEP 17-Cut grosgrain for top and bottom; measure around top and add one inch. Same for bottom. Must be 40% cotton to stick!!! VERY IMPORTANT. To make fabric trims for top and bottom use the grosgrain ribbon as your yard stick. Cut the same length as ribbon and make similar to the sides/ribs trims.

STEP 18 adding glue for the grosgrain ribbon. Half of the ribbon will glue to the front of the shade and the other half will glue inside the lamp shade.

STEP 19- Cut excess ribbon on diagonal. Over lap 1/2" and glue down onto where it started.


STEP 20 detail of above

STEP 21 another detail, adding glue

STEP 22 - Adding glue to the inside of the ribbon. This takes practice to know how much glue to use. I use enough to secure it smoothly but you do not want so much that it bleeds.

STEP 23- trick for the corners, gather them 3 or 4 times with your thumb to make a nice corner. This takes practice, too. I know I make it look easy.

STEP 24 - Use your nail to tuck the grosgrain under the wire for a neat edge.

STEP 25 - Try to make the edge straight... the lucky part is I almost always add another trim on top if it's not perfectly straight. The finishing trim conceals any flaws!

STEP 26- Add grosgrain onto the top just like the bottom.

STEP 27 - adding the glue to the inside of the ribbon. Note: also make a small snippet where the ribbon will go over the clip top. Only about 1/4". One on each side. I do not show the snippet here, sorry.

STEP 28- You can see where I make the snippet here around the clip top. This photo shows getting the grosgrain snug under the wire for a professional finish.

STEP 29- To make the top and bottom self trims. Glue the same as the vertical trims.

STEP 30- add glue and fold onto the tape

STEP 31- folding onto the tape, detail

STEP 32 - Top self trim is ready to add. Do a few inches at a time. I start adding at the same spot the grosgrain started.

STEP 33- Sometimes it helps to work on your lap. The hardest part about starting a new craft is how to handle the items. I've learned to work lower than higher. Every step has it's own tricks that you will find work best for you. I have so many that I don't even realize that I do:)

STEP 34-  When adding the self trims I give them a tug on the corners to help them go on smooth. If you use clothes pins to help secure the trim make sure not to leave them on long or they will leave marks on the trim.

STEP 35- adding the fabric trim to the bottom.

STEP 36 FINISHED! PUT ON LAMP!!! Congrats.


Feel free to ask questions. There is lots of info on DIY in the archives here on my blog. Don't worry too much about your first shade; they get better. It's a fun craft!

Thanks and good luck,

Judy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lampshade Lady's New Year

Happy New Year! It's been darn cold up here in Vermont! Sixteen below today was too cold for my old CRV to start, thank goodness for the charger thing to get her going! It's my birthday tomorrow and we went out for a birthday lunch in town. It was a new restaurant in town we'd heard was nice. We ran into friends that joined our table. Fun!

Last year was a busy one in my shop. Our lamp shop in town closed and brought quite a few customers trekking north out to my shop. I was sorry to see them go; they had a nice shop and did a great job, but I had a hunch business would pick up a bit filling in where they left off. I recently started ordering silk sewn fabric shades for clients that were once available at The Lighting Place. I got a kick out of the first custom order I did. The woman said, Judy, you can make money without having to make everything! Hahahaa, good idea I said.

Also great news this year was that my neighbor, The Pawlet Station Restaurant is open! It opened this summer and has been just what the community needs right now. They have been rebuilding their customer base and I for one is thrilled to have them. It was pretty dreary having a closed restaurant as well as a closed general store; no news on the general store. Guess it will eventually open. The rural economy still hasn't rebounded from the crash.

I've been up to my ears involved in a school merger with our town and the neighboring town. We had a vote after 2 years of haggling and educating neighbors on it's benefits and it passed in both towns!!!! Wonderful! But the big but the other town had 30 days to contest the vote and ask for a re-vote and guess what--- they did it just before Christmas! Yup. Must admit knowing these folks and the misdeeds they have done I'm not surprised. Small town ____ , fill in the blank!!! Our neighboring town of Rupert had 2 "self-appointed" members on this committee, both over 80. They came to the table without the ability to compromise or to look to the future. Urgggg. I got involved as I had been on the school board a million years ago and helped get a bond vote thru for a new elementary school- they said it would never happen either! It did! And they love it now and those same folks that didn't want the school are the exact same ones that showed up for the Merger meetings and were the NO's! That's all it took for me to jump back in the frey. I was only a little cog in the process but I'd had the history of the past 30 years of change! No excuses, but my blog was again the first thing to be set aside. Now the town of Rupert has to re-vote our Merger and has to pass it by 2/3 of the vote... just annoying after everyone's hard work. Fear of change, so much misinformation they are spewing.... oh well, back to lampshades, you don't want to hear this, thanks, just needed a little cathartic writing! You can see the handy work of the No's!!! I had a little touching up on my sign....bah...

I just listed this new square bell lampshade in my Etsy shop. I've been working like crazy to get my shop full for January's busy lampshade season. Did you know January can be a very busy month for lampshade makers? I have found it to be my busiest month. The shade measures 4" across the top by 8.5" bottom and 8" high. It is made from a vintage European Grain Sack. It's $85.

Bet you can recognize the check board house as Grandma Moses's House. I found a small piece of this vintage bark cloth before Christmas and made this pair of hex clip shades. This pair of shades measure 6" across the top by 8" bottom and 6" high and clip onto the light bulb. They are $75 each. Link above. I do not have any more of this fabric. It shows up periodically but quite hard to find.
I love this pair of grain sack lampshades. I made a pair for a client and decided to make a pair for inventory. They are blue and cream and have the most wonderful texture. They measure 4" top x 8" bottom and are 6" high. Clip onto shade. Here's their link on my Etsy shop.

A Bistro Linen Shade, shop classic. Love this with the vintage monogram on the bottom. Only one of these @$75.

If you need a pair I have a similar set here. These are a little darker but with the same great red stripe in vintage linen.
I'm pretty fond of this. It's a floor lamp size or good for a large table lamp. It's 16" across the bottom and 13" high. The vintage needlepoint is in the front and a cream handwoven fabric is in the other 3 panels. I think it would be stunning in the right room!
Last one for now. This is a vintage Japanese fabric made in a drum shade + vintage orange and green tassels to finish! Super cute. Just what we need to kick the year off. Funky fun! Don't we need bright this time of year.

Wish us luck with the school vote.... yikes strikes! A book could be written on all the devious things a town will do to not change and grow!  You JUST wouldn't believe them if I told you! To think of my little business if I never grew and evolved. It would not have survived all these years! That's for sure.

Hope you will plan a visit to my shop in 2018. No workshops scheduled, life is just too busy. No promises of lots of blogging but it is fun and I did remember how to do it. hahah. The way technology changes so fast I wasn't sure how this post would go.

xo

Judy

PS check out my Instagram page, I'm Lampshadelady there too. And I promise I post everyday, almost! It's a fun way to connect with fellow artisans.