How to Recover a Lamp Full Tutorial by Jennifer Payne

In this tutorial you will learn how to recover your dusty old lampshades, so bring those ugly lamps out of the attic and make them earn there keep. 



Ingredients:
Fabric to cover lamp (Size Varies Depending on Lamp) 
Silicone Spray Adhesive Glue (The stuff you use to lay carpets with :P) - Heat/Flame Resistant
A Dusty Old Lampshade/or maybe Even a New one :)
Scissors (I don't want you to attempt to cut fabric with your teeth)
If recovering indoors you will need a Giant piece of Cardboard, especially for use in your home if it's raining (Protects everything)
A pen & a Tape Measure
(Optional)
Ric Rac, Ribbon or Pom Trim is optional for trimming your lamps 
Glue Gun if you wish to trim your lampshades

Step 1: Gather your ingredients, You need 100cm x 50cm of fabric for a 19 Centimetre Depth Shade. You also need a pair of scissors, an old lampshade, Silicon Spray Adhesive Glue (The stuff the use to lay carpets with, make sure non flammable) a Large piece of cardboard to protect your house, a Pen and a tape measure.

Step 2: Lay your fabric down flat against a floor/table or hard surface of your choice, Pattern down to the floor. Take your lampshade drum and place it in the left hand corner approximately 1 Inch from the edge of the fabric leaving a seam allowance. Your lampshade drum should have a joining strip use that as a guide as you rotate your lampshade, or simply mark a beginning point with a pen, so you know where you will finish off.

Step 3: In my photo and this tutorial I am going to use the lampshades Join, but you can use a pen if you want to mark a starting point. Your going to take your working pen ;) and place your pen below your shade directly on to the reverse of the fabric as shown and very slowly roll your shade a full circle following with your pen to mark your outline all the way around till you meet with your start point again.This is how you are going to get that fabric to fit perfect on your easy or potentially awkward lamp shades.

Step 4: When you have done this, just be sure to check that you have a complete line from start to finish add a minimum of an extra 2 Centimetres to your sketched out line this will allow a seam allowance and room for any marginal area you may have. Repeat Step 3 for the top of your lampshade but make sure the bottom of your lampshade sits on the first line you sketched. 

Step 5: It should look something like this in the picture, just to double check you have done it correctly Measure the width between bottom and top lines and make sure it's a minimum of the depth of your lampshade in my case it has to be an equal 19cm from start to finish. Picture here shows what you will be measuring between when you have done this. Again take your tape measure and add a minimum of 2cm's to the top line as you did the bottom line allowing room for error if there is any and good coverage.  It is better to have to much than to little as they say. Join the beginning points and the end points (the 19cm gaps in this instance). Then cut the fabric template you have made for your lampshade out and place on the side.

WARNING this could get messy! 

Step 6: Next take your box, lampshade & the spray adhesive. Using the box as a carpet floor protector. Place your hand in the center of the lampshade, as shown in the picture. Spray an even, thin coat of adhesive all around the lampshade using your hand to gradually turn it as you go. Once the entire drum is covered place upright on your box to avoid the glue coming into contact with anything unneccesary. 

Step 7: The clock is ticking now and your glue has already started to dry, place your fabric template pattern down towards the ground and once again spray a thin and even coat all over the reverse side of the fabric, starting from left to right, as this is the order you will place the fabric onto your lampshade first.

Step 8: You now have 1-3 minutes depending on your glue to get this right and it's a little bit fiddly but certainly not impossible (I find heavier cottons are actually easier to use on lampshades than lighter cottons like the Michael Millers of the world) so you may wish to try with a cotton duck fabric if it's easier for you to manage. I find the best thing to do is to place the fabric loosely on to your lampshade and then adjust where necessary using your hands to mold out lumps and bumps, stretching the fabric out as you go. Your knees are also a very useful tool :)  Don't be afraid to lift and replace as the glue is excellent and pliable for a couple of minutes.

Step 9: Once you've positioned the fabric properly you may have excess and are wondering what you do with that excess fabric at the end. Fold the sticky fabric into a seam, it should loosely hold but your going to secure it properly in the next stage.

Step 10: With your adhesive spray or a glue gun. Spray just underneath the seam and push down to hold in place, use a towel to flatten out firmly. Towels are also a great tool to buff out any bubbles, just like wallpapering.

Step 11: With the excess seams on the top and bottom it's time to Tidy up. With your spray adhesive, lightly spray under all the extra fabric hanging over the edge and fold it over the lampshade, the next picture shows you what it will look like as you go. You have two options here depending on how much excess you have you can make a neat seam all the way round or you can fold and tuck under the wire frame of your lampshade.

Step 13: Your nearly there, do the same for the top of the lampshade, folding and spraying the adhesive as you go. Allow to dry for at least an Hour before using. Double Check that the glue you have is heat/flame resistant. 

Hope you enjoyed the tutorial. More Tutorials Coming Soon.

 You can email your pictures of your lampshade creation to me and we will place you on my wall of fame followers, soon to be introduced, email me at patchworkparadise@gmail.com or visiting me on facebook. 

Jenny xxxx