A simple and inexpensive way to renew an old lamp

Finding a beautiful lamp is always an asset when shopping second hand, but even if the base is in fantastic condition, the shade is usually not in the best condition. Atlanta-based home and design expert Marcie Millholland shares a simple and inexpensive way to breathe new life into an old lamp.

Make your own lampshade

Make your own lampshade

All you need is some fabric, glue, bias tape maker, and you have your very own DIY lampshade that has that “Grandmillennial” vibe that’s so popular these days.

Supplies are needed

Supplies are needed

Millholland says her inspiration came when she looked at an old lampshade that was in dire need of maintenance. She’s always loved the look of a pleated lampshade, and she noticed that this style keeps popping up, but with a pretty hefty price tag. She knew she didn’t have the sewing skills to create one from scratch, so she came up with this DIY workaround solution.

Armed with a glue gun, a curtain of economical cotton, and a $5 bias tape maker, she created and placed false pleats around the diameter of the lampshade. It took only a few hours to make and looked just like the lampshades in any upmarket store.

If you don’t know what a bias tape maker is, it’s a device that helps finish fabric piping, edges, and false folds. You can use it to take a strip of fabric and fold it neatly over itself. You can watch YouTube videos to see how to use it and it will surely be worth it.

DIY lampshade

DIY lampshade

Choose your fabric, Millholland has chosen an orange patterned fabric and remember that due to the folds there is no repeating pattern to be seen so you don’t have to worry about patterns lining up from fold to fold.

She recommends using a lightweight fabric, as she said they are “easiest because they move smoothly through the bias binding machine. The strips are also less bulky, especially when you have to cover the top and bottom of the visor with the last strip.”

Pleated fabric lampshade

Pleated fabric lampshade

Millholland said of her project: “Pleated sunglasses are expensive to buy – as they should be with all the manual work! But I wanted the look to be within my budget. That was the solution. I also love when I can reuse something instead of throwing it away and it’s a great way to salvage old lampshades.”

The end product

The end product

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