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Contemporary yarn crafts by Heidi Gustad. Knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame.

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How-to: Woven Ribbon Lampshade

May 6, 2013 3 Comments

How-to: Woven Ribbon Lampshade at HandsOccupied.com

Sometimes, you’re out walking the dogs and find a couple of perfectly good lampshades in the trash, and you have no choice but to take their existence as a sign you need some new lampshades. Even if you aren’t lucky enough to find craftable trash lying around, this project can be done with any wire-framed lampshade in need of a makeover.

Supplies

lots of ribbon, in 2 contrasting colors
an old lampshade with a wire frame
scissors
liquid stitch/fabric glue
lots of straight pins

Directions

Using whatever means necessary, strip your lampshade down to its wire frame.

How-to: Woven Ribbon Lampshade at HandsOccupied.com

Since I literally found my lampshade in an alley, and since even non-alley lampshades get dusty over time, I advise you to take this opportunity to throw away the probably-gross fabric removed from the shade and clean off your workspace.

How-to: Woven Ribbon Lampshade at HandsOccupied.com

Cut a piece of ribbon long enough to wrap tightly around your lampshade plus two inches. Pin one end around a vertical support of your lampshade skeleton as shown below.

How-to: Woven Ribbon Lampshade at HandsOccupied.com

Wrap the ribbon around the outside of the shade. When you get around to where you began, fold down the second raw end and pin it to the first, folded over end of the piece of ribbon.

lampshade6

Cover your lampshade frame from top to bottom in this manner. The next step is weaving in vertical pieces of ribbon. You don’t have to do this in a contrasting color, but I found it made the weaving effect really pop.

(I made two lampshades, using the purple ribbon for the horizontal loops for the first, and then using some cute bumble bee ribbon for the horizontal loops on the second. The pictures above feature the first lampshade, and the pictures below feature the second one. FYI.)

To weave in the vertical ribbon pieces, cut several pieces of ribbon that are two inches longer than your shade skeleton is tall. Fold one end of the ribbon over the top of the shade frame and secure to the top horizontal loop of ribbon with a pin. Repeat this process all the way around the shade, leaving the bottom end of the ribbon free and alternating how you weave the vertical ribbon among the horizontal. See the checkerboard effect of the purple ribbon on the bee ribbon?

How-to: Woven Ribbon Lampshade at HandsOccupied.com

Next, it’s time to glue everything in place as well as to glue over the ribbons’ raw ends to prevent raveling. Begin with the top of the vertical ribbons. Leave the pins in place until the glue is totally dry.

How-to: Woven Ribbon Lampshade at HandsOccupied.com

For the bottom of the shade, fold each end around the bottom metal piece similarly to the top, pin it in place, and glue to finish. Remove the pins when the glue has dried.

How-to: Woven Ribbon Lampshade at HandsOccupied.com

When the vertical ribbons are all set, you’ll need to glue the horizontal ribbon pieces too. Put a little glue inside each folded end and over the raw edge of the ribbon to keep it from raveling. Again, wait until the glue is totally dry to remove the straight pins.

How-to: Woven Ribbon Lampshade at HandsOccupied.com

An optional last step, if you’re so inclined, is to cover the exposed metal skeleton of the shade with more ribbon. For once, I decided to go with the shabby chic look on mine and left it raw.

I first posted this project at The Good Weekly, the blog for Goodsmiths. In case you didn’t know, I write twice a month for The Good Weekly. The bee ribbon used was provided by May Arts Ribbon. 

Filed Under: Home Decor, How-to, My Work Elsewhere Tagged With: home decor, lampshade, ribbon, upcycle, woven

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is an artist, author and crafts designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame. In addition to running the Hands Occupied Blog and Pattern Shop, you can find her making videos & co-hosting the Very Serious Crafts podcast.

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Comments

  1. Carol

    May 11, 2013 at 5:05 pm

    Fun shade.

    Reply
  2. Mia Ethan

    August 7, 2015 at 2:13 am

    Simple and powerful decoration. What ribbon did you use? I have bookmarked your snap. Thank you

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Weekly Reader, May 10, 2013 – Hands Occupied says:
    May 10, 2013 at 11:06 am

    […] On Monday, I showed you guys how to revamp a lampshade with woven ribbon. […]

    Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi, an author, yarn craft designer and content creator specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. My work unapologetically features primary colors and vintage-meets-modern style. My first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is now available!

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There’s an update on the blog today, & it’s ab There’s an update on the blog today, & it’s about how I’m going to take the next 2 weeks off to rest & recharge. ☺️🧶 No new content for y’all means I can also take a moment to zoom out & plan what’s next. Link is in bio. 
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A note on Very Serious Crafts: In the post I discuss stepping away from the @seriouscrafts podcast to give myself more time to devote to some minor medical issues. Don’t you worry - my health will be fine, & @molliejohanson @redhandledscissors and I are still pals, and after a short break of their own, the podcast will be back! Just sans moi. 💁🏼‍♀️😆 
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Hi, I’m Heidi, the craft book author & maker beh Hi, I’m Heidi, the craft book author & maker behind Hands Occupied! 👋🏻 I’ve been enjoying making Reels a lot lately, but I wanted to bop in to share a regular photo & say hello. 🤓 
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rather than giving you my bio right now, I have a question. I just got this new sweater & I can’t stop imaging how funny it would be to wear this to a knitting class ... is that bad? 🤣🤣🤣
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Pictured: a blond woman with glasses wearing a sweater that reads “all your sweaters are ugly” standing in front of a Christmas tree.
Wet blocking, also called immersive blocking, is o Wet blocking, also called immersive blocking, is one of the most common methods for finishing a knitting project and helping ensure its final size and shape. Learn basic blocking for absolute beginners in an easy-to-follow (non-Reel!) video tutorial! Catch the tutorial on YouTube or the Hands Occupied Blog, link is in bio. 🧶 #handsoccupied #stopswatchandblockit #KPAmbassadorsDec20 #sponsored
Had to share this perfect capture of one of my fav Had to share this perfect capture of one of my favorite weird homemade Christmas ornaments: a simple macramé Santa face with beads for the eyes and nose! My Great-Grandma made it too. 🎄
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Might have to try making a quickie Reel tutorial for this guy - I think it’s the perfect project for it, don’t you? 🎅🏼 #handsoccupied #macrame
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