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Crafting your own lampshade with our DIY Lampshade Making Kits is a fun and creative way to add a personal touch to your décor and with the freedom to choose any fabric, you're not limited to just one colour or material. In today’s #LampshadeKitHack, we’ll guide you through a step-by-step tutorial on how to mix and match different textures, patterns, and colours to create a bold, modern, multi-textured or multi-patterned lampshade, using our expert tips and materials.
Dividing Your Fabrics
To get the Multi Textured lampshade look you can divide your fabrics in a number of different ways:
Half and half – we’ve chosen to split our panel in half lengthways for this project creating central feature with our Self Adhesive Textile Tape
Rule of Thirds – Highlighting one of your chosen in a larger section is an eye catching choice, particularly if your use this section for a brightly coloured or textured fabric.
Edge Borders – Creating two thin top and bottom borders of your handmade lampshade, using is effective use of patterned and textured fabrics.
Choosing Your Fabrics
Combining two fabrics allow you to play with texture, pattern and plains. The general rule of thumb is that to compliment a textured or patterned fabric you’ll need plain fabric to sit in the background, to ensure the lampshade doesn’t become too busy. Our rich jewel coloured Supreme Plain Velvet range is ideal as a elegant textured plain fabric.
Another consideration is the thickness of the fabric, and how this will sit under the tape and if this creates bulk. We tested our fabric by taking a sample of each and applying them to a spare piece of Stick It® Lampshade Making PVC, to check how the Self Adhesive Textile Tape sat.
What you’ll need to make an Multi Textured Lampshade
15cm x 1 metre of Natural Hessian Fabric
15cm x 1 metre of White Flanders Linen
1 metre of Black Chic Self-Adhesive Textile Tape
Tailors chalk or Erasable fabric marker
Ruler
Pencil
Tape scissors (optional)
Preparation
Open your 25cm Drum Lampshade Making Kit. Remove the Stick It® Self Adhesive Lampshade Panel from its plastic wrapper and reverse roll and stand in a mug for a few hours or overnight.
How to Make a Multi Textured Shade
1. Place the Stick It Self Adhesive Lampshade Panel with the paper backing facing up. Mark your chosen dividing line using the gridlines. We have opted for a half and half lampshade.
2. Cut your fabric to the sizes needed, with a margin of two cm on all sides, making sure that one long side of each fabric is cut perfectly straight.
Professional Tip: If you are using a fabric that frays, brush small amount of Fray Stop around the edges of your cut fabric pieces and leave to dry. This will ensure your fabric doesn’t fray any further.
3. Peel and fold back the paper backing from the top of the panel to the marked line and cut along the line, to remove half of the paper.
4. Taking your fabric, position the straight edge onto the self-adhesive, so it meets the backing paper. Smooth into place with your hands or a Lamination Squeegee.
5. Remove the remaining backing paper to reveal the other half of the panel. Position the second fabric so it meets the first.
Creating a folded seam edge
6. Along one short end, measure and mark 1cm from the edge of the panel. Join the markings together in a line. This will become a seam overlap. We applied FrayStop to the fabric, which is just visible along the cutting line.
7. Cut two rectangles of cardboard (or Stick It Lampshade Making PVC) measuring 1cm x 3cm and using the double sided tape from the Lampshade Making Kit, stick these along the top and bottom of the PVC, so they sit flush with the short edge.
8. Start cutting out the panel along the seam overlap, continuing to cut carefully around the rectangles and the remaining panel.
9. Fold back the kisscut along the top edge and carefully remove the strip to avoid fraying. Remove the cardboard rectangle. Repeat on the bottom edge.
10. Apply double-sided Tesa tape to the edge of the panel with the fabric overlap.
11. With the fabrics facing up, apply Self Adhesive Textile tape to where the two fabrics meet, ensuring this overlaps each fabric equally, by measuring the distance from the top and bottom edge. Trim flush with the panel on one short edge, and to the same length as the fabric on the other.
12. Remove the backing from the tape at the short edge (this will be red). Starting in the centre, fold the 1cm seam allowance of fabric over onto the tape. Smooth out towards the top and bottom edges of the shade.
13. Using the double sided tape, tape onto the fabric overlap starting just below the top edge of the PVC panel to the bottom edge.
Making the Lampshade
14. Apply the double-sided Tesa tape to the centre of the rings. Apply evenly and avoid creases.
15. Press the tape down evenly and firmly onto the ring then remove the release paper. Repeat steps on the remaining rings.
16. Place the rings on the panel edge (not on your covering) and start to roll towards the folded seam edge.
17. When you get to the seam (the overlap), press the tape together from the centre out. The seam is now closed, do not apply any pressure here or you can dent the lampshade.
18. Place the lampshade with the seam on a hard surface and apply firm pressure, pressing the tape down.
19. Snip the covering in line with the struts on the utility ring so that the covering can be folded under the rings.
20. Pinch the fabric, pull taut and fold down onto the sticky rings.
21. Use the finishing tool to push the fabric behind the rings. Push the tool between the gap and swipe around the circumference until you’re happy with the finish.
22. Complete each side by holding the tab firmly in place with your thumb, to keep the fabric tab tight and then tuck the excess fabric under the ring.
Congratulations! Yo've made a Multi textured lampshade!
Coloured Hessian Collection
With 19 quality dyed hessians to choose from, all of which are ideal for lampshade making, our new Coloured Hessian Fabric Collection are prefect for creating vibrant or muted multi textured shades.
Each hessian in the collection is 120cm wide, apart from the Natural which is slightly wider at 130cm and prices start at £5.14 per, and is available to buy per metre, with reductions in price the more you buy.
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