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We asked our lampshade making community which tool they preferred using for finishing off their handmade drum lampshades and have listed here the 5 most popular tools. If you want that professional look for your drum lampshades you need to be tucking away any unsightly fraying edges behind the top and bottom rings and making sure they don’t pop out again when you’re not looking or worse still, when someone else is! Each of our lampshade community seem to have their own preferred tool for this oh-so-important job and we’ve listed the top 5 here, in order of popularity.
1. The knife or palette knife.
Using a knife with a round ended or a palette knife gives you a decent sized handle to grip with and a nice smooth tip that will stand the test of time. Your hand is quite far from the edge you are working on though, which can feel like you have less control than when using a tool with less length.
2. The credit card
Using a credit card or similar, your hand is close to the area you’re working on giving you a good amount of control over what you are doing.
We buy in blank PVC ID cards from ebay, usually 1000 at a time.Tim Scott
3. The free Dannells edging Tool
This nifty little tool is something we like to give you free of charge with any lampshade kit you order. It’s the perfect size to have your hand close to the area you’re working on, with a more pointed edge than the other tools mentioned in this post, but still slightly rounded at the tip. This is a great tool for a one-off use and something more rigid is a good alternative for a longer lasting option.
4. Finger nails!
Always on hand (unless of course you’ve bitten them off) though it does tend to ruin them!
5. Your own design
A few of you told us about your ingenious, custom-made inventions and we had to list a couple here.
The first nifty tool has been specifically designed to reduce aching hands.
It’s a plastic sculpting tool with a load of fabric wrapped round it for a makeshift handle. If I like it, I’ll add a more permanent handle.Bird and Button
I use a cut off glue spreader for more robust fabric. Majdalani Interiors
Do you have any other great tips?
Please let us know in the comments below!
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Image credits:
Bird and Button
I use a small palette knife to tuck my fabric in. Works a treat, would highly recommend