Just had a bit of a chuckle to myself looking at some of Captain Haddock’s insults and exclamations from Tintin (I don’t usually spend my spare time doing that, maybe I should, I was just looking for an interesting title for this blog post!)
Well, this is a Tintin lampshade I made yesterday for a client. I haven’t read the pages I chose to check for any Captain Haddock insults, maybe I should! I hope the seven year old boy / “young monkey!” / “whippersnapper!” / “Fuzzy wuzzy!” I made it for likes it as much as I do. More quotes available if you want a giggle at Tintinologist.org…
When I first learnt how to make hand-stitched lampshades I was told, “You really should use a thimble – and one day you’ll wonder how you managed without one”. Well, I found them really uncomfortable at first; they made sewing feel really awkward. But now I fret if I can’t find my Nan’s old thimble that was in her sewing box I inherited years ago. It fits perfectly and really saves my fingers from all those nasty pins!
This week I have finally had a go at making paneled hand-stitched lampshades. There are two ways of making them – 1. Cutting fabric to fit the panels and then stitching them together on the sewing machine (on the left in the photo), and 2. Sewing the panels to the frame directly by hand and then neatening off the joins with some kind of braid. Both work really well, but made me realise how important it is to choose the pattern for your panel and fabrics that compliment each other nicely. The second method is definitely more time consuming, but okay if you want something to do while watching TV in the evening. Both involve a lot of pins, thank goodness for my Nan’s thimble eh?!
In fact it’s so horrible and cold I haven’t been out all day (which is very unlike me!) Ah well, at least this spell of hibernation means I have finally started stitching a lampshade I’ve been meaning to make for ages. I bought the fabric a few months ago and have just ordered some bright red velvet trim to put on the top and bottom. This one’s supposed to be for a collection of three big empire lampshades and floor bases that will be for sale on my website. The problem is I always make things I really like so it’s hard to let them go! The plan is to finish this before the Easter holidays and as this cold spell is set to last I’d say for once I will get it done on time! Back to my cuppa and sewing and the radio… 🙂
I love lined drum lampshades. They just look so neat, professional and finished with no hint of PVC showing. Not only that, they also look beautiful when lit as the pattern on the inside shines through faintly. It takes a little more time and patience to make them but well worth it in the end.
I made this one yesterday for a client who wanted a lined lampshade to match her curtains in her dining room. The outer fabric is a white linen which is tricky to work with and I wouldn’t recommend using it if you’re making a lampshade for the first time, as it frays very easily. But it’s fine if you treat it very gently and carefully. The inner fabric is a cotton/linen blend fabric from Laura Ashley, featuring a subtle wisteria-inspired flora pattern.
So if you dream of owning a stunning, hand-made, bespoke lampshade that you simply can’t buy on the high street and that ties in with your interior, get in touch for details, you won’t be disappointed, promise…
I finished restoring my big empire lampshade today and I thought I’d put some photos on here to show the before – when it was a really tired, ugly lampshade I discovered in the back room of a local antique shop. To during – from binding the rings and struts to pinning the fabric to the frame to stitching the fabric onto the frame and finally hand-stitching the trim to the bottom ring (no glue or double-sided sticky tape here!)
I haven’t added up the number of hours involved but it hasn’t been quick, that’s for sure. However, as with all these projects, I have learnt a lot and definitely become much more efficient at the whole process.
This is going to be a post full of photos of the various stages involved, just so you get an idea.
First, the before shot:
A very dusty, swathed pink-ish crepe satin cover with a glued on trim at the top and tassels at the bottom – hmmm, no wonder it had been overlooked for so long!
Then during:
The stripped frame – in excellent condition, couldn’t believe my luck!
Binding the frame and struts (nice and easy bit) and finally a choice of fabric for the cover, after lots of deliberation and searching:
Stretching and pinning the fabric to the bound frame, see the pins – ouch! (This was then repeated for the silk lining as the fabric behaves differently):
The next step is to mark the strut lines and then remove the fabric and sew it to the other side using a sewing machine. It is then carefully eased over the frame; hopefully it fits like a glove after a bit more pinning.
Below is a close-up of the lovely streetly stitch used to attach the fabric to the top and bottom rings, comes naturally now!:
Preparing to stitch the tassel trim to the bottom ring, on a lovely sunny day in the garden (you can see the hand-made flip over bias strip I had already sewn onto the top ring):
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And finally:
Drum roll please…. the finished lampshade, phew!:
And a bit more of an urban shot outside
I love it, really pleased with the final result. I may have to decorate a room around it though and still have to paint the base but I think sanding and painting will be a doddle compared to all the pinning and hand-stitching! The good news is I now have my first paid commission through an Interior Designer for a hand-stitched empire lampshade like this. I know what I’ll be doing next week… more details to follow…
This lampshade was most definitely a labour of love. Now it’s complete I love it, but making it wasn’t an easy experience… but then the reward when I finished it was great! When you know what you’re doing these hand-stitched lampshades aren’t actually as difficult to make as you’d think but when you don’t know what you’re doing (or can’t remember exactly how you learnt what to do as in my case!) it can be quite frustrating. I really wish I had made one straight away after the course at Homemade London but I guess I have learnt a lot from my mistakes and hopefully won’t make them again next time. Before I went on the course I really had no idea how these traditional lampshades were made; IÂ thought each panel was attached separately and I remember hating to remove all the pins I had used to pin the fabric to the frame to get the outline.
I breezed through attaching the outer Liberty print fabric and I could do streetly stitch in my sleep now, but I remember from the course the lining was much trickier and easier to get wrong. It’s not perfect but I have now made notes on my notes (!) so I just need to find another frame to practice on before I tackle recovering my big lampshade. I think another trip to a local antique shop is in order!
I’m really looking forward to teaching at my next drum lampshade workshop at Make & Do in Caversham, Reading next Thursday evening (26th April, 6.30pm). Maybe one day I’ll feel confident enough to teach others how to make hand-stitched lampshades too – better keep practicing (how many lampshades can I fit in my house d’you think?!)
Well, I hadn’t until ten days ago. It’s a stitch used a lot in making hand-stitched lampshades and now I have finished making my first one, I can (almost) streetly stitch like a pro! I attended the second day of the bespoke lampshade course at Homemade London on Sunday and I have only just recovered. Not because of sore fingers this time though. It was really good fun again, but also quite intense trying to finish the lampshades and not make any mistakes along the way, I was exhausted by the end of the day. Thank goodness our lovely tutor Angela, was brilliant and calm as well as extremely knowledgeable about sewing and lampshades.
I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and will treasure my handmade lampshade (must find a suitable base to go with it now). It felt like we learnt a skill that’s becoming lost in the mass production of everything and I hope I can carry it on. I already have another frame ready to make another one so that I don’t forget how it’s done, you can never have too many lampshades! Hopefully I’ll get a bit quicker this time, these lampshades definitely can’t be made in a hurry!
I decided to make an egg cosy for a little girl’s birthday present this week. Okay so it’s not the latest expensive girly toy but it’s hand-made, personalised and I had fun making it while the boys played with their friends… It’s good practice for next week too, when I’m planning on machine embroidering my pictures onto the pile of tea-towels I have. Not sure they’ll be so easy but just as much fun.
Just a short post today, only one computer in the house and a school project to work on…
