Sunday, January 29, 2017

I DID IT!!!  REVAMPING A LAMPSHADE


     As I was surfing around Pinterest the other day I saw a tutorial recovering (updating – upcycling – revamping) a lampshade.  I have several that could use a makeover, but I also have a 10 light chandelier I purchased in Dec. 2015.  It has been languishing in the bathtub in the Master Bath.    I couldn’t decide where to hang it, it is, after all, 10 lights!!!  That’s quite large, but I decided this week to hang it in the bathroom. 

     When I saw the makeovers on those lampshades I was inspired.  I bought lampshades off e-bay as they were more affordable than the ones around town, even with the postage.  All 10 are not alike, 5 are the same, and 5 are different, but as I will recover them, they will be the same color, but not the same shape.

     I did not want to tackle this without knowing what I was doing, and I did have an extra one (well, actually two), so today was practice day.  I scoped out some leftover fabric from a few years ago, and started in on the shade.  The first thing I did was remove the banding at the top and bottom, then started taking off the banding down the sides.  After I had removed two, I realized I did not have to remove them completely, all I had to do was loosen the sides and I could slide the fabric underneath and glue it back down.  This saved umpteen hours and fingernails.  But the top and bottom banding had to be removed.  Then I set out to cut a paper pattern.  Easier said than done.  Ever tried to draw a straight line on a curved object.  It cannot be done.  What to do?  Get as close as possible, cut the fabric from the pattern, lay the fabric on the lampshade and cut away what’s not needed.  Be very careful doing this, you need enough to slide under the banding down the sides. 

This is not glued down, only at the top, this way I could see if it was the right size.  It wasn't.  This is the one that was a bit too narrow, but it's barely noticeable, and after all, it is just a practice piece. 






     Cut all the fabric panels at one time and clip them to the top with clothespins.  I did not think of this when I was trying to see if I had cut them correctly, it would have made things so much simpler if I had.  I used fabric glue, NOT hot glue.  This fabric glue will not get soft if the shade gets hot.  I have a sweatshirt jacket with decorations that are fabric glued on and it has been washed and dried numerous times.  This stuff is permanent, and it won’t hurt you, like hot glue, and if you wash up while it is still damp, warm water and soap will do the trick. Once it dries, however, nothing is going to dislodge it.  I have also seen a couple of Pinterest posts using E-6000.  DO NOT use this indoors.  It is toxic and smells to high heaven.  If you have any kind of breathing problems, even a cold, you will regret using this.  Fabric glue is the only way to go.  It does not smell and dries clear.
I “tacked” the top of the panels to the top of the shade to see if they were the right size, most were, one or two had to be trimmed.  One was too narrow, but since this is a practice piece, I just left it.  This shade probably won’t be used for anything, so no harm, no foul.



     Once I determined the pieces fit, I spread the fabric glue on the back of the fabric with a brush and just smoothed it down and under the banding.  This does take some practice, I got better as I went along.  The last few look so much better than the first ones.  After it dried for a while (actually it was about an hour – I needed a rest), I glued the top band and held it in place with clothes pins.  I let it sit for about an hour (needed another rest and a cookie), then glued the bottom band on.  Also held on with clothes pins. 




     Yes, I will put a list of materials you will need and clothes pins will definitely be there.  Luckily Hubs found a whole bag full in the “shed”.  Don’t know where they came from, but was lucky to have them.   




Materials needed:
Lampshade
Parchment Paper
Fabric glue
Pencil
Scissors
Ruler
Clothes Pins
Bias Binding (unless you can reuse what’s on the shade)
Decorative Gimp, Rickrack, etc.
Paper Plate
Small Artists Brush


Instructions:

Remove banding from top and bottom of shade.
Loosen sides of banding down sides.
Cut parchment paper about 8 inches long by 6 inches wide.
Lay shade on side, lay paper inside shade between ribs, draw lines down ribs and across top and bottom.  Remove paper and trim.  This is your pattern.  Make sure it fits between the ribs, you need a little overhang.  It should fit just under the top fold over and the same at the bottom.

Cut out all fabric pieces.  I used 6 different fabrics. I used pinking shears so they would not fray, I also used Fray Stop on a couple. 

Decide which pattern goes where, you don’t want two florals next to each other if you are using mixed patterns.  Also separate the colors if using several different colors.  I reused the banding that came on the original shades.  Because I want some continuity and the white banding provides that, I will be using it on the 10 shades for the chandelier.    They're your shades so you can use whatever you want, but I believe all the shades should have at least one thing in common, and for me it is the banding.



    The bottom banding is a little crooked, but the glue was still wet so I could tweak it a bit, which I did.  As I said, this was a practice piece.  Now that I know what I'm doing, the others will be much easier to do.  

A few tips:

                  Don't get in a hurry.  Set aside enough time so you don't rush.  
                   Use fabric glue instead of hot glue or E-6000.
                   Use pinking shears instead of scissors.
                   Use a paper plate to squeeze out the glue onto, use an artists brush to apply glue.
                   Wash brush while glue is still damp.  After it dries you may as well throw the brush away.  
                   Use lots of clothes pins.
                   Use lots of glue.
                   

 Here are the shades I'll be using for the chandelier and the fabrics.  




To be continued ............

depending on how long it takes me to cover 10 shades.  

I know on my last post I promised pictures of my dining room makeover and library makeover, but there are so few that I decided to just put them here.  


Dining room:

About the only thing changed in here were the windows.  I took down those plantation blinds and put up mini-blinds.  Hubs made the cornices and I painted them.  Just like in the Living Room, first I stained them and then painted over the stain with three different shades of gray.  I know they look blue, but believe me, I did not use any blue paint.  I think the room looks more open and with the plants, more airy.  One of these days I going to get around to getting slipcovers for the chairs.





Library:

This was the office/hobby room.  Because of a couple of conditions I have I had to give up my hobby of making jewelry, so I didn’t need a hobby room anymore.  But we had books, lots and lots of books.  After weeding out and donating a couple of boxes full, this is what we had left.  As of today, Hubs has added even more, so we are looking for places for more bookcases.  It still isn’t quite finished, so will be an on-going, never-ending project.


Hobby room - before


Now it's a library, sort of......an on-going project.


     As it progresses I'll post more pictures.  One of these days I hope to be finished.  Unlike Ms. Remington, I will not build forever in hopes of making amends.  And hopefully someday I will learn how to take decent pictures.


     So until later, Rant, Rave, Redecorate and try new Recipes.  Hopefully next time I'll have some new recipes and a few Raves.  I've just about given up Ranting......it just takes too much energy.

     Victoria
     a/k/a Bizzylizzy

Any and all comments are welcomed.  And pin me on Pinterest.  


No comments:

Post a Comment