Recovered Bell Lampshade with Boa

We have a lamp in our Living Room that has been looking a bit "Second-Hand Rose-ish" for far too long.  I found a lampshade at a garage sale for $1 that was in good shape, but had the vertical trim pieces falling off.  The plan was just to glue it back together, but I decided to do something a little more colorful since that lamp is where your eye lands when you come in the front door.

So, this is how the shade looked when I bought it
 - nothing special.

For this type of shade, it is best to fit the fabric to the shade.  I lined up the fabric so the weave would fall horizontal at the front of the shade.  A solid fabric or an all-over pattern works best for this shape.

After I pinned the fabric to 1 / 2 of the shade, I ran pins vertically along the opposing vertical side supports of the shade.  This showed me where my stitching line would be.  I, then, used a marker and tape measure to mark 1 / 2 inch (since I was using 1 / 2 " seam allowances) from the vertical pins.  This established my cutting line.

Once I marked both cutting lines, I removed the fabric from the shade and laid it out on a second piece of fabric.  If your fabric has an inside and a face side, be sure to keep the right sides together.  I would suggest you lay the face sides together so you can cut, pin, and then stitch pretty much in one step.

Also, after stitching the 2 side seams I think it is a good idea to try the cover on for size.  My fabric had a lot of stretch to it, and I actually needed to take it in another 1 / 2 inch.  Once I was happy with the fit, I pressed the seams open and slipped the cover on the shade.  Since this cover needs to be glued in place to lay nicely against the frame, I lined up the seams with the supports and then pinned it along the top.

Next, I bunched up the cover and ran some E6000 glue about 1 / 4 of the way down each of the 6 supports.  I did this so I could smooth the cover from the top down and not get glue all over the fabric - which would happen if I ran glue down the full distance of the supports one at a time.  I also pinned it along the supports to make sure the fabric adhered to the frame.

 

To finish the cover, I cut the fabric at the top 1 / 2 " above the top of the shade and then glued it in place.  The pictures show slits cut in the fabric around the top, but when I cut it to 1 / 2 " - slits were not necessary.  They may or may not be depending on your fabric.  I trimmed the bottom of the cover even with the bottom on the shade and glued it down with a thin line of glue.  Finally, I finished the shade by pinning a feather boa as the trim.  I didn't glue it down, because I don't know how committed I am to the boa - but it looks the best from what I have on hand.

It's a little frou-frou, but I think it adds a nice pop of color in that corner and the feathers are kind of fun.  The best part is this project cost me $1 for the shade (garage sale), 50 cents for the fabric (garage sale), and whatever a feather boa is 1 / 2 off at Hobby Lobby.  Not too bad!

Now, about that shabby little table the lamp is sitting on.......

 Thanks for visiting the tub today!

Ellie

Parties I Will Be Linking To:

Sunday - The Sunday Showcase Party at Under The Table and Dreaming, DIY Project Parade at The DIY Showoff   

Monday - Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Tuesday - Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife,  

Wednesday - Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style, 

Thursday - Open House Party at No Minimalist Here,   Catch As Catch Can at My Repurposed Life

Friday - Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed, Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home, Weekend Wrap up Party at Tatertots and Jello