I've been considering doing this for a while but I'm not sure if it would actually save any money when you can get lampshades pretty cheaply anyway. What would you make lampshades out of? I've seen candle holders made from old used cans or tins before and I thought those looked quite good. I've not seen many handmade lampshades that weren't repurposing old ones though.
I have not made my own lampshades but my mom has. She used materials to cordinate with decor of the room, took an old lamp shade frame and covered it. I have seen many articles on Pinterest that show how to make lampshades. Good luck with your project.
I haven't actually made one myself, but I have repurposed old ones. Frankly, I think that's the best way to go. I think it would be difficult to make one from scratch, so to speak. Well, I think it would be for me. I'm guessing that you could build a wire frame for one if you wanted to. Maybe you could also use some sort of container. I've seen them made from baskets and such. The lamp shades I usually like the looks of tend to be expensive. I prefer to pick them up at the thrift store instead. I redo them if need be. I made a very cute one for one of my kids years ago, attaching brown paper using a decoupage method. It came out looking leathery, and I liked the results. It was definitely much better looking than the original lamp shade was.
Thank you both for your replies. I think using an old wire frame for a lampshade might be the way to go rather than trying to form the wire shape myself from scratch. I think that would be easier to use in the long run anyway? And would be able to be reused again most likely so it wouldn't be wasting the lampshades I've got already. I'll definitely take a look on Pinterest, @Pat. I'm always on there yet for some reason I hadn't thought to look there! That sounds like a great project you did to make it turn out leathery in appearance, @Zyni! And getting them from thrift stores sounds like a great way to pick them up cheaply!
No, I have never made any myself and wouldn't even know where to start because I'm not the most creative person out there. I agree, if you did want to go down that route, I'd urge you to have a look on Pinterest. I have a friend who once took inspiration from there and managed to make a very pretty one that she was very happy with. I just couldn't believe how well it turned out.
I have many times in the past and although the end results were not only extremely satisfying as well as very pleasing - its not something that I do very often these days - mainly because - apart from from the fact that lampshades are now relatively inexpensive to buy - as more often than not - if wanting something that looks even remotely acceptable - they require an unusually large amount of patience - as well as a huge amount of time - the latter is for me - better spent elsewhere. Oh and would just add - not sure if they still do them - but as haberdashery/craft stores used to sell wire frames in all shapes and sizes - that only required putting binding on the wire before attaching the fabric - they might be something worth investigating prior to making your own wire frame - or maybe even looking out for old lampshades that once you'd stripped the fabric off the frame could be used - especially as - wire frames can be somewhat fiddly to make - if wanting the frame to stay in shape whilst applying the fabric.
