Hi everyone, hope you all had a great week and are getting things in order for Thanksgiving. I had a wonderful week with plenty of free time due to a light work schedule. It was a wonderful time for me to get organized, clean house, and work on some fun projects. One of those projects I 'm going to share with you now. As you all know, I went to RA's store and had a total blast. I was fortunate enough to buy the Darcy chairs and am tickled pink over them! Anyhow, one piece I fell in love with was the lace lampshade Rachel sells. Initially, I put that lampshade in my bucket list. Then my wheels starting turning more and more and somehow I thought of a way to attempt to create my own! Now that I've created three shades, with lots of encouragement from great friends like Laurie Shoemaker, I thought I'd share a tutorial that could help you DIY'rs a chance to create your own!!!
1.) You'll need to find a second hand lampshade that you will rip apart right down to the frame.
2.) Decide which size of shade and the base of your choice. Fortunately for me, I went shopping in my basement!!!! Another suggestion would be; second hand stores, ebay, craigslist, etc...
3. Depending on the size of shade, you'll need a lace blouse or shirt. For instance, as you see in my pics, I used a small size lace blouse for the square shade. For the larger shade, I used a medium sized zip up blouse. Tip~ I found that choosing a lace blouse with spandex was VERY HELPFUL in conforming to the exact shape of the shade!!!! It should fit like a glove!
4.) Large sharp fabric scissors and small sharp edged scissors.
5.) Like colored strong thread and a curved needle. I used a straight needle, but I would have preferred a curved one for this sewing project.
6.) To begin, disassemble your shade completely. Leave only the wire frame. Drape your lace blouse over the TOP of shade and pull gently right over the bottom.
7.)You should have leftover fabric draped over the top and bottom. I then trimmed off a small amount of fabric at the TOP so I could begin to sew the TOP around the top ring of shade. The stitch I threaded was up and over continuosly. A very simple stitch, but secure enough to adhere.
8.) When you complete the threading on the top, start sewing your thread around the bottom, same stitching as the TOP. Then trim off your excess fabric if you have any. That should be it, your done!
Large Lace Shade~
1.) Follow all the same steps, except this requires some time consuming sewing. The sleeves will be longer, and you will need to cut them off and do some pretty crafty sewing to create a pleasing seam. Tip~ sew the seam from the INSIDE!!!! It will be a much nicer outcome and looks professional. This shade is a bit more challenging, but well worth it and you can make a couple more chandy shades with the sleeves as you can see in my pics!
Good luck, be BRAVE, have fun, and if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask me.
Like I said, BE BRAVE .....
Here is a Large lace blouse
The two chandy shades from the sleeves of the blouse
My stitching, UP and OVER...
I hadn't completely sewed the bottom yet and here's the zipper side. I really don't mind the zipper, I think it adds some whimsy to it!!!!!
Oops, this was before I cut the sleeves!!!!!
I found these BEAUTIFUL vintage mauve pink pom pom hyrangeas at my local super market yesterday. I have never seen this color before!!! They are simply DIVINE!
This is the kitchen console that Jim made from scrap fencing and scrap planks from Lowes.
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