DIY: Easy Way To Cover Lamp Shades

06 Jul DIY: Easy Way To Cover Lamp Shades

Posted at 13:59h in baby 2.0, decorating, DIY, family, finishing touches, how to by
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I have written several posts on the process of creating a my little girl’s nursery (see posts here) and I am down to the very small details of the room. I was really wanting lamp shades to match the curtains in the room, but honestly I have covered lampshades in the past and they are such a pain to do! The most annoying part of covering a lampshade is adhering the fabric to the shade and not making a huge mess. 

The other day I was shopping at Hobby Lobby and found these self-adhesive lampshades. I thought I would give them a try and they ended up being THE BEST idea ever! I covered two lampshades in about 15 minutes with a toddler running around! 
This is what you will need for this project:
Self Adhesive Lampshade
Fabric
Fabric Pins
Scissors
5/8″ White Stitch Witchery, Regular Weight
Iron
Ribbon (if you want a trim around it)
Fabric Glue
Pinking Shears
To start out, remove the outside label of the lampshade and pin it to your fabric of choice. 

Cut out the fabric about 5/8″ outside of the label. This extra amount will be for your Stitch Witchery. Also,  leave a little extra fabric on one end to overlap…just a little…I think this is about 1 inch. 

If you have never used Stitch Witchery, it’s an awesome product. It basically glues fabric together to make a nice edge on it. Lay out your  Stitch Witchery on each side of the fabric.

Use your iron to press the fabric and Stitch Witchery together. You should get a finished edge like below. Leave the one end without the Stitch Witchery, as this end will be overlapped with the finished edge. 

Now you are ready to cover your lampshade! Lay out your fabric and place the self adhesive lampshade on top of it. 
Starting with the unfinished edge of the fabric, slowly peal back the adhesive covering on the lampshade and start laying down your fabric. As you peel it back, smooth out the fabric. 
Eventually you will make it all the way around your lampshade. 

At the end of your fabric, you will want to have it finished to look like it’s one continual piece. This is where the fabric glue comes in.

On the seam of the fabric, make a small line of glue and press the fabric together. Let this dry.

You will end up with a cute covered lampshade that was EASY!!

Now if you are like me and want a more finished look– I decided to add ribbon to the top and bottom of the shade.

I made a small line of fabric glue around the top edge of the lampshade and placed the ribbon around it.

To prevent the ribbon from fraying on the end, I used pinking shears to cut the ribbon. Don’t worry, no one will look that close at your ribbon to see the jagged edge. Glue the two ends of the ribbons together.

Repeat the process with the bottom ribbon.

And you are FINISHED!! A super cute covered lampshade that was so easy to do! I absolutely LOVE this self-adhesive lampshade and will buy them again hands down!

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