It’s amazing what you can do in the space of 5 uninterrupted hours! This morning I decided to move my felted lampshade upstairs onto the landing which left a big gap in the sitting room. I need a good light to work under in the evenings so I decided to make this lampshade to replace the old one. Having acquired a random selection of fabrics over the years I figured it was time to get it all out and put it use…..at last!
Making a fabric patchwork lampshade is really REALLY simple.
You need PVA glue, a paint brush, a lampshade (obviously!) a selection of fabric and about 5 hours. That last one is usually the hardest to come by!
Lots of you are asking what PVA Glue is which is a good question! It’s a great wood glue that can be mixed with water to create a primer too. To be honest I think it may be the same as mod podge but as I’ve not used mod podge I can’t be certain!
You need an old lampshade
A selection of fabric
Cut your fabric into squares. They don’t need to be exact because they are going to overlap. I sorted mine into colour ways because I wanted each panel to be a different colour way.
Using PVA glue slightly watered down paint it onto the lamp with an old paintbrush and stick your fabric patch onto it. Paint the fabric with more glue ensuring it is completely covered in the glue.
Continue to stick your fabric patches as before ensuring that you stick each new patch next to the previous one.
Work each panel ensuring that all the fabric is glued really well. Make sure you are having FUN!!!
When you have finished all the panels attach the lampshade to its base (I can’t say wait for the glue to dry because I didn’t wait!!!!) Stand back and be really proud!
There are still the finishing touches to be added – gluing some lovely trimming around the edges perhaps but for today tis will do!
What I like about doing each panel a different colour scheme is that you can turn the lamp round to have the colour that best suits the room.
That is so gorgeous! and so neat, if I was to attempt that it would get very messy.
Thank you! I’m so pleased that you like it and I encourage you to have a go it’s such fun and mess is all part of the process! x
Absolutely amazing!! Im going to have to make one for my studio…. when I sort my studio out 🙂
That is super! Very colourful and totally unique.
I had such fun doing it. Give it a go!
I love it! You are an inspiration Emma! It’s so pretty !
Amazing I cant wait to do this. need to find such amazing pieces of fabric tho hmmmmmmmm
Absolutely devine love them , I’m going to have a go x
You can buy scrap bundles of fabric from eBay really cheaply, which is great for stuff like this. I usually get them for English Paper Piecing.
Amazing I love it
You know I have wanted to do this for ages but always ‘over thought’ just how to do it…..seeing it is this simple has given me a new incentive to do it. Cant wait to find a lamp standard and lamp shade to get one done. One will look lovely in our new flat. Thanks again.
Gorgeous!
Pingback: 15 Awesome Ideas to Decorate Your Home with Patchwork | Interior Design Blogs·
So cute but what is pva glue?
Love the idea. But what is PVA paint.
Here is another Emma , who really likes your lampshade. It is beautiful.
That is really awesome!!
Just seen this. I have a cream lampshade just like that one. It’s on my Indian brass lamp. Wonder if I can find some suitable Indian fabric ……
I love this idea and what a great job. My question is what is PVA glue. Thank you.
This is awesome. I’ll have to try it. Thanks for your detailed instructions.
what’s pva glue?
As many of your followers I too have been waiting for inspiration and encouragement that this is something exciting to do. I look forward to starting. Diane
Really love this. Would you need to flame proof the fabric before/after putting it on?
Ideally yes but I didn’t because the shade is very large and not near to the bulb / heat source
I’ve just tried this & my material has gone all bumpy once dry? What did I do wrong? 😬 Thanks
Claire I am so sorry that your fabric went all bumpy and I cant offer an explanation I’m afraid. I did keep a close eye on my lampshade as it was drying and kept flattening it with a paintbrush. I wonder if the fabric was completely saturated in the glue? – I found that mine was. What a pity it didn’t work you must be feeling very fed up 😦
Lovely I’m going to try it
I love this. I just want to confirm that you actually glue the top side of the fabric kind of like decoupage.
Thanks.
Hi Deanna, Yes it can all get glued as it seeps through the fabric anyway so don’t worry about how the glue is spread about. Once it is dry the fabric is stiff and makes the perfect lampshade 🙂
Amazing I can’t wait to try that .looks class
Wow! That is beautiful! I need to find me a standard lamp!! Thank you for sharing.
Love this idea. So feminine. Thank you gorgeous sharing. I will try making it .
Thank you , thank you , I’ve been wondering what to do with all these lampshades I’ve got that don’t go anywhere , now I know what to do with them .im decorating the whole house, so loads of different fabrics to play with …going to take some time but worth it in the end..wendy
This looks amazing ….now I have another project to try 🙂
It’s beautiful. Thanks. I ‘ll have a go myself. Love Ruth x
All lined up for my winter project, as my summer one is my garden, it’s looks such an exciting project, thank you my enthusiasm is growing with speed.
I have tons of fabric swatches and a lamp i hate because of the shade. This is just what i needed! I’m going to do this today!! Thank you very much. 😘😘
I have looked and looked for a cover to make. This is just so cute. Like the rest of your comments, I just love it too ! Can I do this over my lampshade that I just painted and, don’t like the look ?
thanks much, deanna
Hi Deanna,
Thank you for your lovely comment and I’d say give it a go! Try covering a small part of the lamp shade to see if the paint shows through or bleeds through the fabric and if it doesn’t then I’d say you’re good to go!
Best of luck my friend!
Hi! I have just discovered your wonderful pages and am bowled over by your lampshade. It is beyond wonderful! There are several discarded lampshades in our loft and I have lots of fabric so, thanks entirely to you, the shades are going to become “must use” items and my scrap stash is going to diminish! Thank you so, so much for the inspiration and tutorial. Win, win, win. WOW, WOW, WOW! (I have saved to my Pinterest boards, which I hope is okay by you).
Lovely, really want to give it a try. Does it matter what type of material the lampshade is made from?