To Refresh Your Memory
In this previous post I described finding a lamp (a familiar tale) and the process of giving the brass body a bright green makeover. Go check it out, unless you only care about lampshade makeovers. In that case, stay right here and read on for more about how I transformed this old lampshade to match the shiny new look of the lamp body.
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| Lampshade with original fabric removed |
The Lampshade Makeover
I had fabric on hand with a sort of slubby linen-like-look that I thought would be perfect for this project (yes, it too was free from someone cleaning out their stash). I thought the slight texture would help disguise any imperfections.
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| Fabric on floor before ironing |
What I needed to do in preparation was to watch some online tutorials, purchase spray adhesive, and then lay out the fabric and start tracing the edge as I rolled it along the fabric.
HOT TIP: Iron your fabric before laying it out for tracing. It matters.
As you roll the lampshade along the fabric, trace the top edge and the bottom edge. You will end up with two parallel curved lines. It helps to either tape down the fabric or have someone hold it steady to make sure the rolling of the shade and the tracing doesn't shift the fabric.
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| Traced line on fabric. |
Add an extra inch outside of each traced line (or half-inch if you are really really sure about your cutting and gluing skills), and cut out the large curved shape. Then, using the pencil lines as a guide, spray onto the fabric and slowly roll the lampshade across the fabric. Spraying and adjusting as you go. Any slightly mis-alignment at the start will be magnified as you roll, so it pays to be extra careful at the start.
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| Cut out fabric for new lampshade cover. |
You can fold over the bottom of the fabric around the stiff edge of the lampshade. Some tutorials suggest going over the ends with some sort of trim, this is not necessary, but if you are NOT going to use trim, take care to make sure that the cut is smooth and that the folded-over portion is the same height all the way around.
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| Glued edged folded over to the inside of the shade. |
If your lampshade has metal bars you will have to snip out V-shaped from the fabric when rolling it over to allow the fabric to split around the metal bars.
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| View of shade top from inside |
At the end of this process you should have the new fabric smoothly adhered to the original plastic shade.
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| Lampshade with newly attached fabric |
One the shade has dried, reunite the shade with the lamp body.
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| Lampshade on green lamp, light off |
When the lightbulb is on the folded over part will show in silhouette.
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| Lampshade on green lamp, light on |
Conclusion
Now I have a nice glossy emerald green table lamp that matches some other fun mineral colors in the art on the wall of this room.
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| Glossy green lamp with new lampshade. |
Happy Freestyling!