Making lampshades

Back in February I went to a great afternoon workshop to learn how to make drum lampshades. It was organised by Sophie of Arts and Laughs and the teacher was Julie from Gilhoolie. Do go and look at her website - she makes really lovely lampshades, often from fabric that she has screen printed herself, and also does lovely illustrations and embroidery. Her post about the class is here. It was the first class she had taught, but she did an excellent job, and I came away very inspired to make more. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was, and it also seemed to be one of the few crafts that I've tried where you could actually save yourself some money by making your own, rather than heading straight to the shops! Plus of course, you can choose your own fabric to get the perfect look. This is the lampshade that I made on the course.

As soon as I got home I ordered a kit online to make another lampshade - this time a slightly bigger pendant lampshade, for our spare room. I had the fabric already, so was good to go - and then I made the terrible mistake of not making it immediately and so forgetting everything I had learnt! Gah! Luckily Julie had given us a brilliant handout, but I was still silly enough to make a couple of mistakes, so my second attempt sadly still needs a bit of work. I think it's OK if you don't look too closely though! I made this on Sunday evening, and finished it last night - it really doesn't take long. (Excuse the photos, it was a bit dark!)

I started taking photos to show you how it's done, but then realised I needed to concentrate on what I was doing, rather than future blog posts! I definitely plan to make another though, so will try to take some step by step photos of that one. There's another class being organised through Arts and Laughs for May 12th if you'd like to give it a go yourself, I highly recommend it!