Fabric Covered Lampshade

Updated on June 5, 2024

Fabric Covered Lampshade. Easily update a lamp to match any decor using fabric. Add a ruffled ribbon embellishment with no sewing required.

I have been wanting to make a lampshade with coordinating fabric to match the bedding for my daughter’s room for some time now. I wanted to create something that was cute but also a bit feminine since it was going in a girl’s room. Just having the plain floral fabric was cute, but it needed a little touch of something extra with the red ribbon ruffle.

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Supplies needed:

• Lampshade
• Fabric
• Ribbon
• Krylon spray adhesive
• Hot glue gun

I found the lamp at our local Goodwill for only a few dollars. The lampshade was on hand from an old lamp. The fabric is leftover from making the bedding for her crib. I did end up having to buy some ribbon to finish off the edges for this project.

Using the lampshade as a template, make a pattern for the fabric. I used a piece of tissue paper for my pattern piece. Make sure to go very slowly for this step. (I actually had to do this step three times before I got it just right.) Start at the seam on the top of the lampshade. Using a pencil, trace along the edge of the shade on your paper as you slowly roll the shade along. Stop tracing when you get to the seam edge again. Do the same for the bottom edge, starting by lining up the seam with where you started for the top edge.

Cut out your paper pattern and do a test fit to be sure it will fit properly. Pin the pattern to your fabric and cut leaving about 1/2 to 1 inch border of fabric around the pattern. This will be used to wrap around the top, bottom, and seamed edges.

Once your fabric is cut turn under one of the side edges and hot glue in place to form a finished edge. (Admittedly I did not do this and it doesn’t look as finished as I would like, but live and learn, right?)  Spray a coat of spray adhesive over the entire lampshade. I used the Krylon brand. I do this step outside so I don’t have sticky spray adhesive all over my house! Working slowly starting with the unfinished edge, wrap your fabric around the shade, smoothing as you go.

Hot glue the raw edges under the shade. I trimmed the excess fabric at this point as well.

Now I had to figure out a way to finish off that ugly raw edge on the inside. I got some red ribbon and hot glued it all around the edge. I tried to turn the edge under to cover up the raw edge, but in the end I ripped it off because I could not get it to fold under nicely because of the shape of the shade.

So, I decided to make a “ruffle” edge around the bottom of the shade instead. I glued about an inch of ribbon at a time. After gluing the ribbon directly to the shade, I used a small dot of hot glue on the outside top edge of the ribbon.

I folded the ribbon over and held it in place for a second to form the “ruffle”.

Then glue another inch long section to the shade and make another ruffle edge, repeating around the entire bottom edge. To finish it off, I folded the ribbon over to create a finished edge and hot glued it in place. I still had the ugly raw edges to deal with inside the lampshade. I very carefully hot glued a coordinating green ribbon to cover the edge on the bottom. It is a little wrinkly, but who is really looking in there anyways?

I hot glued a smaller red ribbon around the top edge.

I think the finished lamp and shade turned out even better than I had hoped.

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