About

Cost: $ $ $ $ $

Difficulty: • • • • •

Time: 1h00

DIY Lamp Shade
Today I want to share a tutorial to turn a plain drum shade into a statement piece for less than $10. I made my own drum shade pendant for less than $75, but I wanted to dress it up a bit. I originally planned to stencil a design on the shade, but the fabric on the shade has a lot of texture and I was nervous about getting a crisp design with a stencil. I brainstormed a fabulous alternative to create a modern design with appliquéd fabric. I love, love, love the way this turned out. The pattern and color are so crisp.

Posted by Jackie H. • Published 12th June 2012 • See Jackie H.'s 5 projects »

Print • Embed

TheSewingMaven added Quatrefoil Drum Shade Pendant Light to Seventies Bedroom 04 May 00:15
TheSewingMaven favorited Quatrefoil Drum Shade Pendant Light 04 May 00:15
Karen D. favorited Quatrefoil Drum Shade Pendant Light 06 Oct 01:23
Corvii favorited Quatrefoil Drum Shade Pendant Light 28 May 06:01
Laura B. favorited Quatrefoil Drum Shade Pendant Light 26 Jan 05:17
diane.seibertklapper.7 favorited Quatrefoil Drum Shade Pendant Light 30 Jul 00:15
Zowii B. favorited Quatrefoil Drum Shade Pendant Light 28 Jul 05:06
destinytlong favorited Quatrefoil Drum Shade Pendant Light 10 Jul 18:55
hellosoni favorited Quatrefoil Drum Shade Pendant Light 08 Jul 17:34
tyler t. favorited Quatrefoil Drum Shade Pendant Light 25 Jun 23:51

Step 1
Measure your shade height and circumference. If the shade has a binding at the top and bottom, measure the height from the inside edge of the bottom binding to the inside edge of the top binding.
Step 2
Using the measurements from Step 1, cut out a rectangle piece of fusible web.
Step 3
Create your design. Geometric designs work great for this project. I decided on a quatrefoil design, which I designed to fit evenly within the size of my rectangle.
Step 4
Trace your design onto the paper side of the fusible web. Tip: For a complicated design, shade in the areas to be cut away.
Step 5
Iron the fusible web onto the wrong side of your fabric.
Step 6
Trim fabric to same size as fusible web rectangle.
Step 7
Cut out your design to remove all the shaded areas. I also split my design into three sections to make it more manageable.
Step 8
“Dry fit” your design by lining up each section around the drum shade with the fusible web side against the shade. Use clips or clothespins to hold the fabric in place.
Step 9
Starting with one section, peel the paper backing off the fusible webbing and repin the fabric to the shade. Line the fabric up very carefully.
Step 10
Use the mini craft iron on medium heat to fuse the fabric design to the lamp shade. Use light pressure and keep the iron moving to avoid denting or warping the lamp shade.
Step 11
The finished lampshade is beautiful! You would never know it didn’t come this way. The thin cotton fabric fused so smoothly, it looks like part of the fabric on the shade.
Step 12
This lampshade is right at home in our breakfast nook where we eat all of our meals. The green coordinates with the bits of green in the chair back covers. I love the boldness of the light now!