Under Construction: Lampshade beautification effort

Before:

After:

The talented and generous Missy Ballance of Mohair Circus gave me a basket full of "cutter quilt" scraps (several months ago). Even though they were already cut, I had the HARDEST time cutting them again and spent ages trying to decide on the "perfect" project. (these quilt scraps are HAND pieces and HAND quilted with the most meticulous little stitches you can imagine)

Last weekend I took the plunge and cut into several of the smallest and most worn out pieces to make over a cheap-o lamp that has been sitting, unplugged in our bedroom for MONTHS while I used an ugly, plastic clip lamp for bedtime reading.

I must say, I am pleased with the results, rustic, unfinished edges and all. Biscuit immediately declared it "pretty" so we'll call it a success.

On the off chance you have an ugly lampshade and a cutter quilt (or other fabric) here's a quick'n'dirty tutorial (if you can even call it that). Let's call it "a few tips to make your own."

Make a pattern piece out of fabric by using a pen to trace the ridges of one section of the lampshade. You can pin through the lampshade to hold things in place.

Cut out your pattern and use it to cut out the relevant number of pieces of quilt--add about a quarter inch when you cut out the pieces, it's easier to trim than to make your fabric larger later! I also found that the sections of el cheapo lampshade were not entirely even.

Also note, my lamp is six-sided (I think this technique might be hard with a square shade but very easy with a circle if you have enough fabric).

Almost time to start sewing! Pin your quilt piece in place lining up one side along the center ridge of the boning that attaches the adjoining lamp panels. Like this: (see how the edge of the quilt falls in the center of the boning?)

Ok, now that one edge is trimmed and the piece is pinned in place, start sewing. I used hand quilting thread (a little thicker than all purpose but, whatever). Tie a knot in your thread and start inside the shade. Stitch as close to the edge of the boning as possible. You want to take long (almost 1 inch) stitches on the inside and very, very short stitches on the outside. Here's a view of the inside of the stitched shade. See the long stitches?:

Once I had one side of the first piece in place I stitched the two adjoining pieces at the same time making sure they were butting right up against one another and trimming as needed for fit.

Be sure the stitch the top and bottom edges as well and, that's it! If you were feeling all fancy like, you could stitch on some bias tape or hem tape to cover the raw edges but I thought the raw edges were part of the charm (and I'm lazy).

Here's to warm lampshades! Oh, one last note, the thick, quilt fabric does block most of the light from going through the shade so this is not a great option if you want the lamp to illuminate a whole room. In my case I wanted the light mostly going downward (so Mr. H can sleep while I read) so this was a perfect solution.