Recovering a Lamp Shade

Fair Warning: Not all lamp shades are created the same. Take some time to study your lampshade's assembly and figure out how to disassemble it.

That being said - this was sooo much easier than I thought it would be.

First, peel off the edging and set it to the side. Then carefully peel the fabric off the plastic shade base.

Lay the old shade fabric on top of the new fabric. Move it around until you have the pattern you want. Trace and cut it out, leaving yourself around 1/4" around the edges (you'll trim it later).

Spray some adhesive on the back of the new shade fabric and secure to the plastic shade base. Be careful to line it up right, it can be a little tricky.

Now heat up the glue gun (or get out the fabric glue). While that heats, trim the excess (if any) from around the top and bottom of the shade. Turn the edge of the vertical seam under a little bit and secure with glue.

Now get out the edge trim that you set aside. If you are using new trim, use the old trim as a cutting guide. I reused the same trim, though I considered using a coordinating bias tape. Glue the trim along the top and bottom edges, folding under the ends.

Let it cool/dry, and put your spiffy "new" shade to use!

Cost: $5 for the original shade, $2 in fabric