DIY Fabric Covered Lampshades

Two lampshades did not survive my recent move from Colorado to Florida. My brilliant solution was to buy plain inexpensive shades and cover them with fabric.

I wanted something bold and fun and immediately thought of some Joel Dewberry fabric I’ve been toting around for years. The fabric is dark, which is fine because the lampshades are going in the bedroom and I prefer not to have too much bright light in there.  ;)

I used this fantastic tutorial from Isabella and Max Rooms for my lampshade project. I had limited fabric and didn’t want to mess us, so I made a template out of craft paper. After I taped the fabric to the lampshade, I used a rotary cutter to trim the top and bottom to a half inch. I’m so glad I took the time to make this part clean because you can see where the fabric is doubled along the edges when the light is on. I also taped everything down before I glued it because I am a little paranoid and I didn’t want to mess up or end up with any wrinkles!

The lampshades look great (in my humble opinion), and the way the light diffuses through the pattern on the fabric is so cool (I can’t think of any other appropriate adjectives right now).  I have a feeling I will be updating some of the older lampshades around this house with fabric soon...