Kirstie Creates: Lighting

Kirstie shares her top tips on the four kinds of home lighting: mood, ambient, accent and task. She also shows you the easy way to make your own personalised lampshade...

How To Make A Lampshade

By Kirstie Allsopp

You will need:
Wire frame lampshade rings
PVC lampshade backing material
Any leftover fabric or pretty roll of wallpaper
Two double-sided sticky tapes; one, a half inch, one, an inch
Cutters or scissors
Some form of weight (such as a large book)

Step One: Measure Up
Measure the circumference of your rings, then add about 2.5cm to your measurement for overlap. That is the length of you will cut your pvc backing to. Choose the depth of your lampshade and cut the backing to that width. Cut your fabric or wallpaper around 5cm wider than your backing.

Step Two: Remove The Backing
Place the fabric or wallpaper, front side down on a table or flat surface. With the pvc backing lying sticky side down in place on top of your wallpaper or fabric (so that its length sits squarely at the edges of the wallpaper or fabric at either end, and its width sits in the middle of the wallpaper with the 5cm overlap either side), peel off the backing, pulling it right back on itself so that it remains as flat as possible on your surface. As you peel the backing off, smooth the sticky side onto the back of the wallpaper or fabric.

Step Three: Fix The Double Sided Sticky Tape
Take the double sided sticky tape and stick it along the length of the pvc backing and wallpaper on both sides. In both cases, it should be placed carefully so that around two thirds of the width of the tape sticks to the wallpaper while the remaining third of the width of the tape is stuck to the pvc backing. Trim the ends of the tape so you have a neat finish.

Step Four: Trim Off The Excess
Now trim away the excess wallpaper or fabric just up to the outer edge of the double sided sticky tape. Neaten up either end of your lampshade, folding over the neat end to create a tidy finish and trimming away the excess at the end that will be hidden by the overlap when the lamp is folded around the lampshade rings.

Step Five: Fix More Sticky Tape Onto Either End
Now fix sticky tape at either end of your lampshade, putting the one inch tape on your good end and half inch tape on the other.

Step Six: Attach The Ring To The PVC Backing
Place the rings on the thin tape (in other words, where the tape is sitting on the pvc backing and just roll. Peel and stick the two taped ends of your lampshade together and smooth it down firmly. Do the same that the top of your lamp and carefully fold over. If you go really slowly, it will be much neater. If you rush it, it won’t be neat and will be visible. On the bottom ring overlap, remember to cut out tabs as you go to fit around the three stems.

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