Posted by Emma @ Sweet Mabel on September 6, 2012 · Leave a Comment
I’ve been looking at the same lampshade in my dining room for the past few years now and I don’t think I’ve ever really liked it that much. Not that there is anything terribly wrong with it, it’s just a plain old teal colour but I’ve always thought it should look a little more exciting. Sadly, I have no funds to go out and buy anything fancy and new so instead I decided to scour through my fabric remnants and upcycle it.
Here is a quick tutorial on how to upcycle an old lampshade into something more exciting, without spending too much money.
You will need;An old lampshadePiece of fabric (large eough to cover the lampshade)ScissorsPencilDouble sided tape
Take your lampshade. Starting at one end of the fabric use the shade as a template by slowly rolling the it (from the original seam) over the fabric to the other end, mark with a pencil until the seam reaches the fabric again.
Cut the template out allowing an extra cm around the edge. Now take the double sided tape and place it down the seam of the lampshade and inside either end of the rim.
Place the shade on top of the fabric and attach the end of it to the tape. Slowly roll the shade to the other end.
Hopefully you will have a little excess fabric. Fold it over to create a nice neat seam and secure with another piece of double sided tape.
Do this with either end of the shade and fold the fabric over the sides so that it sticks to the tape. At this point you could add more tape to the edges and add a nice embellishment to hide the edge of the fabric.
I didn’t have time but it’s something I might get round to doing eventually. Instead I added a bird to the top to detract from any uneven edges.
Place the shade on the lamp and give yourself a pat on the back.
