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Customers who regularly make our lampshade making kits or create their own bespoke lampshade will be very familiar with our Stick It lampshade making PVC. Today we want to introduce you its sister product, Clear Stick It self-adhesive lampshade making PVC and to show you how to use this, we’ve put together some creative ideas to incorporate into your own lampshade making adventures.
The key difference between the standard and clear Stick It PVC is the translucency, and while not glass clear (that’s a different product again!), Clear Stick It allows the light through the shade directly, making any colours or pattern on the outside of the shade pop more, a great example being the African Wax Fabric shades pictured above, made by Detola and Geek. The more common standard (white) Stick It PVC also allows the light through, but with a more subtle glow.
The properties of our clear Stick It lampshade making PVC are identical to our range of Stick It products in terms of professional quality therefore it's fire resistant, glow wire tested, anti-yellowing, anti-static and it complies with BS EN 60598-1-2008.
Clear Stick It is available in both single and double sided PVC in a range of sizes from a small roll (1460 x 500mm) to 2 metre, 5 metre, 15 metre and 100 metre rolls.
Lampshades with darker fabrics
If you’re using a dark fabric on the outside of a shade, whether that be a print or a plain, the white of the standard Stick It PVC can shine through dependent on the thickness of your fabric, particularly when using a thinner fabric or one with a more open weave, such as linen. The light behind the PVC can reflect the light through leaving the outer fabric slightly distorted, as in the image below.
Using our clear Stick It PVC with a darker outer fabric or paper is a good switch and will allow the light to shine through, removing the potential of the white glow.
Secret designs – double sided lampshades with a difference
‘Secret design shades’ are not lampshades made in underground bunkers 😂, but simply shades made from Double Sided Clear Stick It with a pattern on the inside of the shade and a plain fabric or paper on the outside. When the light is switched off the lampshade looks plain, but when switched on the pattern shines through the PVC to reveal the pattern or print. Clever eh?
We love that Ruth Kirby of @forty-watt_forte, has taken this one step further with her Cath Kidston shades pictured below. By using a basket weave pattern on the inside and the bold floral on the outside, the result is a fabulous and interesting effect that appears when the light is on!
Using our Double Sided Clear Stick It PVC for a secret design shade guarantees the pattern to show through, but remember the golden rule that the outer shade fabric must not be darker than the inner shade fabric or paper.
A good way to check this is by cutting a scrap of clear PVC approximately 10 x 10 cm, with the fabrics you’d like to use on each side and then hold this over a table lamp to see the final effect.
A hot topic on our Facebook Lampshade Makers forum , Jane Warren of the Lampshade Loft concurs and says ‘It’s always worth doing a test then holding up to a bulb to see the effect before you make them’.
Creative shades with natural materials
With the current trends for natural homewares looking like it’s here to stay, clear Stick It PVC is the perfect vehicle for natural materials, such as hessian and jute, that have denser weave and need the benefit of more visible light.
Jan Broadly of @Illuminara Lampshades, used her talents for making lampshades to create these jute string lampshade and striking washi paper shades pictured above.
We asked her why she used clear Stick It PVC for these projects...
"I have used the clear Stick It PVC for a few lampshade projects where maximum light is needed to compliment the design of the shade. It is perfect if using either natural jute or raffia as the light emitting through the PVC emphasises the beautiful textures of the materials used, it's also the perfect medium to use along with washi paper or tissue paper too.
New Creative Opportunities
So it's apparent that our Clear Stick It Lampshade Making PVC opens up a world of creative opportunities for making new and interesting creative shades and now you're armed with plenty of new ideas why not give on a whirl?
And don't forget that our Stick It Lampshade making PVC range not only includes standard and clear, but Neon, Metallic, Coloured and Premium PVCs too!
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