DIY (Vintage Floral) Pleated Lampshade

Floral prints are making a comeback.

I prefer mine in mini-doses.  A little bit of flower power goes a long way (in my opinion).

I also love me some vintage floral fabric.

So when I found some floral cafe curtain sheers at a local consignment store (Street Scene) I scooped them up not really knowing where I would use them.

vintage floral

A kids room is a great place to play with patterns and color, so I decided to cover the shade of the lamp I bought at Target for my girl’s nightstand.

Instead of laying the fabric on flat and wrapping the shade I used my hot glue gun to make a pleated shade.  Pleats = a ruffly look which = mega girly fun!

how to make a pleated lampshade

It was so easy!  This is how it went down.

how to make a pleated lampshade

1. Start with a boring basic lamp shade.  Or pick one up at the Goodwill  -doesn’t really matter what it looks like since you’re going to cover it – just choose a shape you like.

2.  Measure your shade from the top to the bottom and cut your fabric.  You will need to cut the length longer since you’ll be folding the fabric to make the pleats.  So if your shade would require an 18 inch length to cover it then cut a 24 inch length so you have enough fabric to make your pleats – get it?

3. Grab your hot glue gun.

4.  Start by hot gluing the top and bottom corners of your fabric to the shade.

5. About half an inch (depends on how big or small you want your pleats) add a small bead of hot glue and fold your fabric inward – press down.

6.  Keep doing this all the way around the shade – small bead of glue to adhere the fabric to the shade at the top and bottom – then small bead of glue half an inch in and fold the fabric and press down.

7. Trim any excess fabric off when you’re done.

8.  Hot glue ribbon to the top and bottom edge.  This will cover the unfinished edges.

9. This is optional.  I left a flat place at the front of the shade to add a bow.

This is definitely a project that you could bust out in about an hour , and it’s a really fun way to add some pattern to a space.

vintage floral prints

Are you loving the flower power comeback too?  Mega doses or mini doses?  Vintage or modern?  What’s your style?  Anyone brave enough to wear these?

She looks great!  I just don’t think I have the guts.

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  • The lampshade is too cute! And though I don't think I'm brave enough to wear those floral pants, they are totally adorable on that model! 🙂

  • oh i love this!!! pinning pinning! it's awesome!
    i dig flowers. i will wear them on my shirt…. maybe if i looked like a supermodel i would wear them on my lower half, but seeing as i am me, not gonna happen!

  • I'm definitely not gutsy enough to do the floral jeans…I just find that every time I try patterned pants, it's pretty much an unmitigated disaster (c: However, that shade is FANTASTIC! I am so loving that you paired it with the black trim to keep it from going into "uber-super-duper girly", it's the perfect amount of floral and funk (c:

  • That pattern with the black trim is just plain awesomeness!!! Looooove it. Also loving the look on that model, but I totally couldn't pull it off. It would make my butt look like the size of a for real garden 😀

  • What a great project! I’ll be adding a link to our Lighting & Fans pinboard. Check them out at Pinterest.com/Homedepot.

    – Chante LaGon for The Home Depot

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