lampshade canvas corp burlap upcycle home decor

Upcycle your Old Lampshade with a piece of burlap

Marie Pickles, from our Home Decor Team, received from us a piece of red burlap fabric and without any hesitation got to turning it into a beautiful, slightly shabby lampshade.

I got a great bunch of products from CCB and this red burlap reminded me of Christmas… but its rubbish when you have to put all the cheery christmas items away, so I decided to use this piece of burlap on an everyday item so I can enjoy the warm deep colour all year. – explains her inspiration Marie.

For this project you will need:
Lampshade – new or pre-loved!
Canvas Corp Red Burlap fabric
Rolled paper cord
Scissors
Hot Glue Gun & lots of glue sticks
Quilting clips, needle and thread

Collect your products together and calculate the measurements, measure the circumference and depth of the lampshade. To have some gathers, you need to allow the full circumference plus 6″-10″. Now cut strips, sufficient to cover the depth of the shade allowing an overlap of around 1/2″ per strip. You also need to turn down and sew a running stitch along the top edge and then pull the thread to gently gather the strip, (turn the edges under by 1/4″-1/2″ top and bottom).

Once all the strips are prepared, lay them along the lamp shade to make sure they cover the whole area. I thought that the shade would benefit from some contrasting trim and I used a roll of rolled paper cord to add some pizazz! This was very inexpensive and readily available in the papercrafts aisle of the craft store; you could add hemp or jute or ribbon.

Trim the strips by sewing the decor cord along the bottom edge of each strip. I used a needle and matching cotton thread, sewing a couching stitch at regular intervals along the cord. This will hold the cord in place and be virtually invisible on the outside.

This decor trim produced a totally different look. Now start to lay the strips onto the lamp shade by auditioning one to each the top and bottom of the shade. Keep the top strip right on the edge, do not allow the strip to sit proud of the upper ring as it will interfere with the final trim.

Strips are fixed in place by using the hot glue gun – place dots of glue along small sections of the strip, right on the upper edge where it is gathered. If you need to, you can draw a light pencil line, measuring from the top or bottom of the shade to keep the strip straight. Once you have gone around the lampshade, carefully turn under the outer vertical edge to make sure there are finished edges all round, and again add some hot glue to hold in place.

Once the top and bottom strips are in place, position the last 2 strips ensuring they are evenly spaced over the remaining centre space, again you can use a light pencil line to keep the strip straight. Glue in place and allow to cool.

Once the lampshade had cooled, you will need to clear off the strings and strands of glue. Check all the strips are secure and the decor hangs evenly. To complete the project, take another length of the cord, run a line of glue around the top edge of the lampshade and carefully lay the cord on the hot glue, its best if you use a tool to push the cord into the hot glue, either a pencil or pair of tweezers. Keep laying down the glue and feeding the cord in place until the top ring including the edges of the gathered strips are all well covered.

Visit Marie’s blog for more home decor ideas.

Happy crafting!



About

Canvas Corp Brands is the home of Tattered Angels, 7Gypsies and Canvas Corp (Canvas Home Basics). We are a manufacturer of surfaces, paint and vintage reproductions coming to you from Springdale, Arkansas.


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This blog is a compilation of inspiration from the Canvas Corp Brands family including Canvas Corp, Tattered Angels and 7Gypsies.