Silk Batik Lamp Shade from C&T Publishing

Silk Batik Lamp Shade

By: Kerry Graham for C&T Publishing

Cover a boring lamp shade with silk chiffon fabric and colorful batik ribbon. This colorful accent piece also includes a beaded fringe. Glass beads will catch and reflect the light. This project is an excerpt from C&T Publishing Color Your World with Princess Mirah Batiks.

Materials:

1 package Princess Mirah’s Crafts silk chiffon fabric (21˝ × 36˝).
1 skein Princess Mirah’s Crafts 1⁄2˝-wide Batik rayon ribbon yarn
Plain lampshade- Maximum lampshade bottom diameter is approximately 12˝.
Assorted glass beads
Hot glue and gun
Freezer paper
Fabric glue
Craft knife
Optional: Bead reamer

Instructions:

Prepare the Ribbon

Fold about 51⁄2 yards of ribbon in half lengthwise and press.
Fold in half lengthwise again and press.

Fold in half and press, two times.
You will need about 21 pieces of ribbon, each approximately 9˝ in length. The ribbon length depends on the size of your beads. Begin by cutting only one 9˝ length and follow the steps in Bead the Ribbon below. Adjust your ribbon length as needed and then cut the remaining pieces.

Bead the Ribbon

Ensure that the glass bead openings are wide enough to accommodate the folded ribbon. Use a bead reamer to widen the holes if necessary.
Twist a 9˝ length of ribbon through 8 beads. Tie a knot at each end of the ribbon to keep the beads on the ribbon. When attached to the shade, this will make 2 pieces of bead “fringe.”
Separate the beads into 2 groups of 4 beads each. There should be about 11⁄4˝ between the 2 groups of beads.
Repeat Steps 2 and 3 for as many bead strands as necessary. (Our lampshade needed 21 strands.)

Make the Beaded Fringe

You will need enough ribbon to go around the bottom edge of your lampshade plus approximately 1 yard extra for the knots. Fold and press the ribbon as in Steps 1–2 of the Prepare the Ribbon section at the left. Wind the ribbon into a ball to keep it from tangling.
Place a bead strand acrossthe ribbon. Tie a knot in the ribbon around the bead strand next to one of the groups of beads.
Tie another knot in the ribbon around the bead strand next to the other group of beads.
Tie the next bead strand about 1˝ away from the first.
Repeat Steps 2–4 for the rest of the bead strands to create a long piece of beaded fringe.

Cover the Lampshade

Drape the silk chiffon over the lampshade. Pin in place.
Remove the fabric from the lampshade and sew along the pinned line, removing each pin as you come to it. Sewing Silk Chiffon: Silk chiffon is a lightweight fabric. Use a sharps needle in a fine size (70/10) and a slightly shorter-than usual stitch length.
Turn the silk chiffon right side out. Pull it over the lampshade like a sleeve. Let about 1⁄2˝ drape over the inside of the top of the shade. If the silk chiffon is not a tight enough fit, sew again with a slightly larger seam allowance. When you are satisfied, trim the seam allowance to 1⁄4˝ and iron the seam to one side.
With the silk chiffon cover centered on the lampshade, hot glue it to the inside of the top edge of the lampshade. Let any excess fabric hang down inside the shade. You will trim it later. Glue fabric to inside edge of shade.
Turn the lampshade upside down and hot glue the silk chiffon to the bottom underside edge of the lampshade, the same as for the top edge in Step 4.
Let the glue cool, then carefully remove the excess fabric from the top and bottom edges with a craft knife. Use fabric glue to secure any loose fabric ends. Remove excess fabric with craft knife.

Apply the Fringe

Apply a dot of hot glue to several knots on the beaded fringe.
Position the knots about 1⁄16˝ up from the bottom outside edge of the lamp.

Glue fringe to shade.
Continue gluing the fringe in place all the way around the lamp- shade.
Allow the glue to cool, then let your light shine!