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

Awesome Fabrics From The Best Designers

In This Page you will find all the fabric inspiration you need to get your sewing mojo back. If you'd like to order anything you see on this page, you can contact me or it may already be available on our Facebook social shop. Fabulous releases from Michael Miller, Riley Blake, Moda, Blend and Much Much More will be regularly featured here. :) Indulge your eyes and Enjoy!!

Honest Book & Product Review Service

Want to find out the latest on the sewing must haves and books? Would you like me to review a product you offer? Contact me now :) Here I will review all the latest purchases in my life. Letting you know on whats new and keeping you up to date on what is worth buying helping refine small & large businesses and there products. Using a 5 Star Rating System, I review products and literature from the sewing & craft industry based upon. For Book Reviews: Content, Style, Description, Durability and Quality for Money/price I'd Pay. For Products: I test drive items for between 1 week and a month, reviewing the items on the following: Durability/Long Lasting, Condition After Use, Does this product fulfill it's intended use?, Material selection & Style, and of Course Quality for Money along with the price I'd Pay. If you are interested in a carefully put together review on your product. You can email me your request via this page or facebook. Thank You, Jennifer

About Little Oh! Me!

If you haven't spoken to me, I'm Jennifer and I have been running Patchwork Paradise since August 2012. It's been quite a journey to get Patchwork Paradise where it is today. Even though it's been a short period of time relatively. I have fantastic support from so many of you lovely followers on Facebook. I'm hoping to offer you a better service than ever before, making my tutorials even more accessible so you can learn to be a happy and confident sewer! Yay.

So a little bit about me. I actually only really picked up the passion of the needle and sewing in 2009. I spent the past couple of years before Patchwork Paradise, working as a Community Care working and a Support worker for Young People with Severe Learning Disabilities. I use to work nights like many people do these days and had to find a way to keep my mind alert during the quiet periods at night. So I picked up Cross Stitcher magazine and began my journey learning to sew. I was immediately sewn into the world of threads and fabric, I found a lot of pleasure making items for everyone. One moment I was cross stitching the next I was making little fabric houses and even Fimo jewellery. Of which I had one entered into Crafts Beautiful magazine (even if it was only a little peek) it still inspired me to try more crafts. Finally after dabbling in a bit of everything I found my I adored fabric which meant sewing home products was what I fell in love with. I will give you a peek at some of my very first and early makes, most of these where made during my long and arduous night shifts.

After several years in care, my life came to a halt as my hubby lost a job. I was already working 60 hour weeks to help pay the bills and panic struck, how on earth where we going to manage with only me working. I had very little money! Just £20.00 in fact! The only thing I thought to do at the time, was like everyone when pennies are short you ebay your possessions. So on went my lovely collection of fabric, magazines and other sewing lovelies. Sacrifices had to be made. The thing that surprised me was the fabric I chose where ever so popular and I was making a more than what I paid for them at RRP. So with my £20.00 I scrawled the net to find fabric bargains and managed to double my money at ebay auctions! Yippee. Sometimes I won and sometimes I lost! Still this was not enough to pay the bills. A break through came when I was at my favorite fabric shops! perusing and I found an entire bolt of Cath Kidston!! Cotton Duck Floral Spray White at just £10.00 a metre. I had to buy the entire roll, it was do it and hope for the best. I suppose some may think of it as a gamble with their money, however, I thoroughly understood the market demands at the time and knew I would make enough to cover the extras for that month.

I went home that night and got it right on to auction starting with just small pieces. I couldn't believe it when a Fat Quarter was selling for between £5.00 and £10.00! Over the moon I had to reinvest! and that is what I have been doing ever since. Amazingly me & hubby scraped by until he got a job, thanks to Patchwork Paradise. However, for me it was just the beginning!! So that's how Patchwork Paradise got started. There are so many more things in between but their isn't enough time to tell! :)

Ultimately, it is my firm belief anyone can make a living from home if they are truly passionate about a product, understand the market needs and willing to at times take small risks to advance their business. If you are a Crafter, don't think about what if I can do, just do it! Try it and work out what works and what doesn't. The full purpose of Patchwork Paradise, is not only to sell amazing value for money fabrics, but to teach people to have the skills they need to start there own businesses and to help them iron out any problems they find on the way. I have a small advantage as I went to The University of Plymouth to study Administration Management & a Business Management Degree, which helps me stay organised and on top of tax/financial information, however, you do not need any higher education to succeed. Just the willingness to learn. I will pass on whatever knowledge I can to help you.

Enough chit chat from me! :) I'm Jennifer, the pictures below is me last year in Tenerife, Hubby and our gorgeous mischievious munchkin Timmy (Yes he's A Cat)  :)

Jennifer xx

Welcome to Patchwork Paradise Tutorials

This fabulous page will contain all the information you need to make fantastic items. If you would like to see a tutorial here, let me know by contacting me. Thank You. Jenny xxx

Hello & Welcome To Patchwork Paradise's Official Brand New Blogging Page

Welcome to Patchwork Paradise a little bit about me. Patchwork Paradise is an exclusive Facebook Only Fabric shop! This is the start of what I hope to be a fun and exciting blog, a place for tutorials, reviews, assistance, guidance and all the top news on brand new fabric releases and whats in & what is out of season in the crafty world. A little place where you can pick up knowledge to guide you on your journey through the crafty way of life. 

If you don't yet know me. A little info on myself. I'm Jenny, Married to my awesome other half (Robby) who use to assist in running Patchwork Paradise but unfortunately he has had to go back to work as my health took a turn and I wasn't able to manage as much work, Hubby took the pressure of and now allows me to run this little fabric shop & blog without the burden of worrying how the bills each month was going to be paid. Something I am sure we all struggle with at time

It's just myself running the fabric shop on facebook and I like to think of myself efficiently and effectively organised. You would be amazed at the systems that can be put in place to help one person manage 100+ orders a week, all the assistance on effective crafty business management will be divulged here to and how to make the most out of your facebook page. I like to consider myself as a good example on how small businesses that grew out of nothing (£20) should be run.

I also provide fabulous tutorials to help you learn to sew and potentially set up your own business. I'm here to provide all sorts of information and advice on business/tax, product reviews, the good books, and bad books, the good shops and the ones who need improving and any other advice from a honest lassy wanting every one to succeed in doing what they love. I have supported many business on their way to becoming fabulous run at home little shops for all those stay at home mum's and those who may be restricted in other ways, to go out their and earn money making & doing the things you love. If you have any questions about any of my services or any help/assistance you are seeking, please never be afraid to ask. If I don't know the answer I will direct you somewhere that can. 

I hope you love the blog as I filll it with all kinds of shennanigans, I've obviously got a lot of catching up to do in the blogging world, so it's all a bit of an adventure. I've just spend 5 hours trying to understand how to customize the basics of my blog lol! Such a novice. 


Jenny xxxx