Friday, March 13, 2009

Making Ruffled Lampshades

My little chandelier lampshades were just a bit on the "blah" side. I would look at them and think, "they need a bit of something". You have often heard bloggers talk about shopping their house. That is just what I did...I remembered that I had bought trim for the curtains in the breakfast room, but didn't purchase enough and ended up buying a tassel trim. So I dug that out, then I thought to myself...I have a lot of fabric left over from the curtains, I wonder what a little ruffle would look like added to it also!

I sort of remembered how to make a ruffle. I had made Lindsey a couple of summer outfits awhile ago and they had ruffled trim. I cut a 4 inch strip from 60 inch material, folded it in half and pressed it. You really only need to double the length around the base of your shade, that will give you plenty of gathers. Too much gathered material is too bulky.

Using a wide stitch and the tension very loose, I stitched 3/4" away from the raw edges. Then I did a second row of stitching about 1/8" from the first one. I learned the hard way that gathering threads break VERY easily and the gathers look prettier when pulled by two threads. This is the part that took the longest...even being careful, I broke a lot of my gathering threads!

Using Eileen's Tacky Glue, I glued the ruffle along the edge of the bottom of the lampshade.
Then glued my trim on top to cover the rough edge. Of course, needing to frou frou just a bit more, I added more trim to the top!


It only took me a couple of hours to complete them,
and I think they turned out pretty cute!

Viola!
So if you are looking for a fun, fast project
make some ruffled lampshades!
~Jill~

26 comments:

Lisa said...

Jill! Those are so beautiful! They really transform your chandelier. It almost makes me want to sew...almost:)

Salmagundi said...

Cute project!! I've done some embellishing on little lampshades before, but never a coordinating ruffle. I need to check around the house to see where I can utilize that charming trick. Sally

Barb said...

Hi Jill,

They are just so adorable and you did such a great job. Good for you!

There is nothing like a little home project to put a smile on our faces.

Barb~Bella Vista

Old Centennial Farmhouse said...

So satisfying! I love it! I used to make my daughter little dresses with rows and rows of ruffles...back when she was itty bitty. Ruffles can be exasperating, can't they?

Thanks for showing us this little project!

Kim's Treasures said...

OMG really darn cute!

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

How wonderful your ruffled lamp shades look! They look "designer" now!!I love making over lampshades.

Neisey said...

Oh, wow! They look so cute. Good job.

Tracy said...

They look SUPER cute, well done!

Stacey said...

What a sweet little transformation. The chandy is so beautiful to begin with! It feels good to find a way to use some of that material doesn't it? Seems like there's always more left over than you expect.

Anonymous said...

Hi Jill! Oh, how precious! You did a great job on these and they're just as cute as a sewn one button! :)
Be a sweetie,
Shelia :)

*Ulrike* said...

What a nifty idea! They certainly add charm!

debi said...

LOVE the lampshades!! Very pretty!!

Nancy Rosalina said...

They are adorable, Jill! Great idea!

Kim said...

Okay, so when are you gonna start selling these beauties on your Etsy shop?????

Unknown said...

Good Job Girl! Lovely!

~Liz

joyh82 said...

Very pretty chandelier! Love the shades you made. Very creative!

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

Wonderful! You made a lovely choice of fabric and trim! They turned out very elegant!

Susan @ The Good Life! said...

Your blog is beautiful! I also love your idea for the lampshades!

Martha said...

Pretty chandelier -- it is nice to take something and make it your own. Love the ruffle idea and it ties in so well with your WT

Tam said...

You are so creative and Awesome. If I attempted to do that I would really mess it up and end of trying to find something on etsy! I guess I am just the shopper and not the creator!

SmilingSally said...

How did I miss this post?

They are beyond cute! You are one clever lady!

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

Hi Jill,
You are the second person today to ask me about covering lampshades! Here is the link to the post where I show how I do it,
http://lavenderhillstudio.blogspot.com/2008/08/finshed-shade.html

And yes, I do put my fabric right over the other and it does not seem to dull the light. The only thing is, you can't do it if the original shade is a print fabric. The pattern would show through with the light on.
Hugs,
Penny

Rue said...

Hi Jill :)

Those turned out really really darling!! Brilliant idea :)

hugs,
rue

One Shabby Old House said...

That looks so pretty. Job well done
Becky

Karen said...

AHA! I've had the very same problem with the thread breaking. BUT! I found a solution. I believe it is the type of thread you are using. I found this out when I bought a new sewing machine! The woman who owns the shop and gave me a few lessons told me that Gutermann's thread is the best and you will have a less likely chance of it breaking when pulling a gather.
Who knew? It's worked for me so far!
I've found Gutermanns at Joanns. It's on a long skinny spool.
Let me know if it helps!
Karen

Roseny Crisp said...

Que maravilhoso!!
Obrigada por compartilhar sua idéia!
Abraços.

Wonderful!
Thank you for sharing your idea!
Hugs.

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