DIY-STYLE: How To Recover A Lampshade

For months, I’ve been checking the lighting aisle of Target in search of a lampshade. I was looking for something of medium size with a print complimentary to our home colors. I would have my Cartwheel coupon clipped (if you don’t have the Cartwheel app, you are just leaving money on the counter in the Target checkout lane! Download now!) and I would walk up and down, back and forth, trying to make one of the shades available to me work. I would leave the store, empty handed (and a little disappointed I couldn’t get 20% off my non-existent purchase with my Carthwheel coup!), and try the TJ Maxx and HomeGoods down the sidewalk. Finally, I took matters into my own hands.

I found this black and white drum lampshade at HomeGoods. The size is exactly what I wanted and the only one of its 14″ x 14″ symmetrical size. I remembered something I saw on Pinterest about recovering lampshades so I purchased it for a whopping $16.99 and headed to JoAnn Fabrics. I purchased a yard (a yard is not necessary, but it was on sale and I knew I would put it to use it in other places) of this Waverly fabric. In my mind when choosing fabric, when in doubt, choose Waverly.

Waverly Stripe Ensemble Robin’s Egg

While Waverly fabric is great quality, I knew it wouldn’t be able to conceal the very bold, black design on the lamp shade. So I began pulling back the pre-existing fabric only to discover that it was quite literally holding the entire piece together.

I left well enough alone and decided to line the shade before recovering it. I cut the white fabric to fit the exact 14″ x 14″ size, glued one edge to the area I had peeled off, and overlapped the other edge and secured with more hot glue.

I measured 14 inches both in width and length and then added an inch to each measurement. After I cut, I realized that was more than generous. In the future, I would only add about a 1/4 inch to each measurement.

In an effort to keep “bulk” at bay, I attached the first edge of the fabric in a different place than the seam from the white liner. I placed hot glue along the length of the shade and sealed one edge. I then, carefully, wrapped the remaining fabric around the shade, insuring that pattern didn’t pull and shift the lines. Once the seams met, I trimmed off a bit from Edge B so the pattern would be cohesive.

I trimmed off a good amount of the excess fabric from both sides. I hot glued a line about 3 inches long at the inside base of the lamp shade. I placed the fabric over the glue and “tucked” the edges into the rolled shade edge.