DIY Ruffled Lampshade (no sewing machine required!)
As an experienced sewer, it’s not lost on me that many people don’t have access to or experience with a sewing machine. But that shouldn’t stop you from crafting and customizing your home! While you won’t need a sewing machine for this tutorial, you will need a needle and thread, but don’t worry! Gathering stitches are easy as pie and very forgiving – you don’t need to be a pro!
For this tutorial you will need:
- Lamp Shade
- Measuring Tape
- Fabric of your choice
- Bias tape (I show you how to make your own in fabric, but it can also be purchased!)
- Sewing clips (or binder clips, clothes pins, chip clips)
- Thread
- Needle
- Fabric Glue
To determine how much fabric you need, first measure your lampshade. You will need a piece cut the height of your shade x (the length of your shade x 2-3, depending on how dense you’d like your gathers). For example, my shade measures 7″ tall and 25″ at it’s widest width. My fabric piece is 7″ tall by 55″ (this happened to be the width of my fabric, so I kept it as is!).
*image measuring lampshade, image showing cut piece of fabric with digital measurements
For bias tape, you will need enough tape to wrap around the top and the bottom of your shade, plus 2″ for overlap. For most lampshades, you won’t need more than an 18″ x 18″ square for your bias tape. For my lampshade, I purchased a yard of fabric and was able to complete this project with plenty left over. After you cut your gathered piece, the rema
Now that you’ve cut your pieces, let’s start prepping the gathered body piece. Start by pressing your piece, being sure to remove any wrinkles. Next, turn the short edges in ~1/2″ and press.
*insert image of pressed edges
Onto the gathering stitches! Prepare a needle with a cut of thread that is double the length of your fabric plus 3″. Tie the two thread ends into a double knot. Starting ~1/2″ in from your fabric edge and ~1/4″ down from the top, weave the needle up and down making ~1/4″ size stitches.
