How I Make a Lampshade Without a Pattern

I recently bought a brass lamp at Habitat ReStore which had a torn lampshade. While I wasn’t planning on using that lampshade on the brass lamp, I knew I could do something with it. When I got them home, I realized the lampshade had been made by winding thin strips of silk around the top and bottom rings. Very little glue had been used to construct the lampshade, so clean-up mostly consisted of tearing off the worn-out silk, and that job had been started long before I took the lampshade home.

I decided that it would be perfect (with the right fabric) on the pendant light I have I my workroom. However, due to the way the original lampshade cover had been made, I did not have an old cover to use as a pattern. I originally thought I might do a gathered lampshade, which doesn’t require a pattern. But my workroom already had one gathered lampshade and two pleated ones, so I decided to make a tight lampshade. As luck would have it, I had a small remnant of Braemore’s Kazoo, just enough for my needs, but would have to develop a pattern for both the face fabric and the lining.

Here are the materials and tools I use:

• a cleaned and bound lampshade frame (see this post)
• large sheet of paper (or more than one taped together)
• face fabric (about a half a yard or more, depending on the shade style and size, and how you choose to lay out the fabric print if present)
• lining fabric (I typically use muslin since we only have LED bulbs at home)
• pins (ball headed are best)
• grosgrain ribbon or twill tape to match lining or face fabric (about half a yard, or five-six inches per spider strut on the frame)
• trim, gimp, rick rack, and/or additional fabric cut into bias tape
• matching cotton thread(s)
• hand sewing needle or curved upholstery needle
• thimble
• fabric glue or hot glue gun (optional)
• latex gloves (optional) 

For any shade, I start by laundering and ironing the face fabric and lining fabric before cutting.

Before I bind my frame, I am going to create a rough pattern using two large sheets of paper taped together. If you don’t have stacks of paper lying around, this is a great way to reuse the tissue paper or butcher paper many stores wrap your purchases in. Lay the paper flat and mark off a center point (I am using my taped edge as the center). Designate a midpoint on the cleaned lampshade, and then slowly roll it back and forth so you can trace the shape and curvature. 

Once you’ve got a rough outline, wrap your pattern around the lampshade to make sure you’ve got the lines where they need to be. Fold the pattern in half along the midpoints you marked, and make sure both sides are the same. You will be cutting the fabric much larger than your pattern, but the pattern will help you keep your fabric on the straight grain and can help guide the placement of any design motifs you’d like the lampshade to highlight.

I then place my new pattern on the fabric, centering it on the straight grain (I could also use the exact bias as my midpoint, but that won’t work with the fabric I am using today). My pattern allows very generous seam allowances to provide fit options and approximately two inches at the top and another two inches at the bottom for pinning. 

Then I pin the side seams and fit the shade cover on the frame inside out, making sure that it is straight on the grain at the center of each piece (or on the exact bias). I often need to adjust the seam if it needs to be tighter or looser, if I see wrinkles, or if the pattern isn’t lining up correctly.

I then sew the seam (I use a machine, but it could be sewn by hand) and test fit again to be sure, and resew the seam as needed. Once the fit is perfect, I will sew another seam again close to the first, then trim and press, setting the stitches. Finally, I turn the shade cover out to the right side, and give it a final press, turning the seams to the “back” of the lampshade.

I create the lining in the same way as the cover, but fit it to the inside of the lampshade, with the seams facing out. I place release cuts where the lining hits the struts for the spider or UNO fitting. Since I don’t have the old lining to use as a pattern, I will put the lining in place, and mark for the release cuts. My shade has three struts for the spider fitting, each located half-way between two of the six vertical struts. My first cut will be in the middle of one side of the lining, and the other two cuts will be an equal distance from the seam, and the distance between each cut will also be equal. I remove the lining from the shade to cut the release cuts straight down to an equal distance (two inches usually works for me).

To begin sewing, I will pin the cover to the outside of the lampshade, placing the seams on vertical struts, and with a couple of inches of fabric flapping around the top and bottom. I pull the cover tight as I pin, using a lot of pins, and repining often as I finesse the fit. I use the lampshade stitch to attach the cover to the binding, and I use a thimble to ease the strain of poking the needle through the tightly bound layers. Once the cover is completely sewn, top and bottom, I trim the excess fabric as close as I can to my hand stitching.

I then fit the lining to the inside of the shade, with the seams facing the frame and lined up with the cover fabric seams, and the release cuts under the spider or UNO struts. As I pin, I pull the excess fabric at the top and bottom over the edge to the outside of the frame, where I will soon be sewing it. I keep pulling and pinning the fabric as tight as possible, while not pulling it off grain, and without visible pulling or wrinkling (which can happen if you don’t pull tight enough or if you pull too tightly). Since the seams are rarely on the straight grain, they can be especially vulnerable to wrinkling. Once it's pinned to my satisfaction, I sew the lining on the outside to the frame, over the cover stitching, again using lampshade stitch. I carefully trim the lining fabric close to the stitching, so I don’t cut into the cover fabric. Then I cut grosgrain ribbon or twill tape into five- or six-inch lengths, one for each spider/UNO strut, and pin them to cover the release cuts, wrapping under each strut. I sew these in place with lampshade stitch, and then carefully trim the ends.

I don’t enough of my face fabric to make bias tape, or enough of a coordinating fabric. I am also a little weary of hand-sewing, so I am just going to glue some gimp over my stiches. I use Fabric-Tac, but E6000 or a hot glue gun work just as well. I begin by placing my shade over the harp of an unplugged lamp, so I can turn it as I glue. I am going to wear some latex gloves for this step. I cut two lengths of gimp, one the length of the top circumference, plus two or three inches, and one the length of the bottom circumference plus two or three inches. Selecting an arbitrary “center back” of the shade, I begin gluing, applying my glue to a few inches of the shade, then placing my gimp over the glue, and temporarily securing it with a clothespin. I turn the shade slowly on the harp as I work. When I get back to the beginning, I fold back the working end of my gimp, glue it to itself, and then glue that on top of the beginning piece. I will then repeat the process to glue my gimp to the bottom of the shade, lining up my “seams” at center back as best as I can. When I am done gluing, I remove the clothespins and replace them with stick pins as needed. I let the glue cure overnight, then I am ready to enjoy my new lampshade!