No-Sew Fabric Lamp Shade DIY
One of my favorite projects from my nursery transformation is this DIY fabric lamp shade. It was so easy to make using (mostly) items I already had at home. If you give this project a try, share your photos below!
I wanted a table lamp that provided soft, dim light and fit the aesthetic of the room. The style of lamp I was looking for was a pleated, patterned fabric with a ruffle bottom. I hunted thrift stores for the right fit and wasn’t finding anything quite right. And the inspiration lamp shades I liked retailed for $150-200.
I picked up a clearance lampshade and decided to make my own! I had a set of four Pottery Barn napkins in my outgoing donations pile that I thought would make the perfect fabric for my lamp. These napkins had never been used, so they were perfectly ironed. If you are using your own DIY fabric or have purchased fabric from the store, I recommend ironing it! Having a stiff, flat fabric really made the project much easier.
Supplies:
Lampshade (a fluted lampshade is more true to the inspiration photos, but I felt the cylinder one fit my space better)
Fabric (I used a set of four Pottery Barn napkins, you could use a pillow case, t-shirt, or purchase fabric from the store)
Step 1: Pleating
Once your fabric is ironed and ready to work with, play around with how large you want your pleats to be and make sure you have enough fabric to go around your lampshade. I needed approximately the circumference of my lampshade + 3 inches. The stripes on my fabric made it super easy to keep a consistent spacing between pleats. I glued down my first strip, counted four stripes, made my first pleat, glued along the seam of the pleat, and repeated this process until the base pleats on the lampshade were finished.
Step 2: Adding Ruffles
Once the pleating was complete, I knew I wanted to add ruffles. The napkins I was using already had a beautifully hemmed edge, if your fabric does not have a hem I recommend adding a one inch hem to the bottom of the fabric. Next, I followed the same pattern before of tucking the fabric and gluing it down, but this time made my folds a lot more organic and floppy. This created the ruffle pattern. I used copious amounts of glue to get the ruffles to fall just how I wanted them. The whole project took under an hour.
Step 3: Add a base and a light bulb
I ended up finding this lamp base at Target and I think it fits perfectly!
I love having hand made items incorporated in my baby’s nursery. It gives the room such a personal feel. I’ve put a great deal of love and care into the items I’ve made for her room, just like the love and care I am putting into making her. Let the countdown begin to Baby’s arrival! I hope I finish the rest of the nursery in time…
With love,
