Craft: a step-by-step guide of how to make a lampshade for your home

Make a pretty new lampshade to intermediate complement your home décor.

You Will Need

■ A hard-sided cone shade in need of recovering ■ Top and lining fabrics: washable cotton and linens are ideal (the same size as the shade they are to cover, with a little extra for depth and turnings) ■ Paper or old sheeting ■ Toning and contrasting sewing threads ■ Medium-weight washable ribbon

Tools

■ Soft pencil or fabric marker ■ Pins ■ Scissors ■ Compass set (optional) ■ Iron ■ Sewing needle ■ Sewing machine

1 First, wrap the cone shade in a piece of paper or old calico or sheeting. Pin into place and use a soft pencil or fabric marker to mark the top and bottom rings and the overlapping line, which should be vertical. Remove from the shade and trim to size, allowing a 2.5 cm overlap. Re-check the fit.

2 To create the scallops, lay your template flat and mark out a 2.5 cm overlap at each end. In between the overlaps, position pins evenly along the bottom edge – each pin indicates the width of a scallop. Generally, seven is a good number for a medium-sized lampshade.

3 Place the pinned template on to another piece of paper or sheeting fabric. Using a compass, or drawing around a cup or bowl, mark even scallops on to the bottom edge to create a new scalloped template, using the pins as a guide. Remember that the two end scallops continue up to the side edges. Cut out this new template. This is the one you will use to cut out your top and lining fabrics.

4 Iron your fabrics if necessary to make sure they are perfectly smooth. Lay your top and lining fabrics right sides together on the worktable. Position and pin the template on top. Note: the template indicates the sewing line, so you will need to allow at least 1.5 cm seam allowance around all sides. Cut out the fabrics.

5 Use contrasting thread to tack a running stitch line around the edge of the template. You will follow this line with your sewing machine. Use matching thread to machine stitch along tacking line. Leave a 15 cm gap at the top to allow for turning out. Once sewn, trim the seam allowance to 1 cm around all sides.

6 In order for the fabric to lie flat and the indent of each scallop not to be puckered, you must cut notches at intervals around the curves of each scallop. Make sure there is a notch right in the indent. It will help to trim bulk from each corner, too.

Turn out the sewn cover through the gap in the top edge. Carefully push the seam right to the edge at each scallop and indent. It may help to tweak with a pin to get the sewn line right to the edge. Press.

Slip stitch the turning gap closed, and press seam.

7 Pin a length of ribbon along the top edge, leaving ends of about 25 cm. Hand or machine sew the ribbon in place, leaving 2.5 cm unsewn to allow for the overlap.

8 Wrap your old shade in its new cover, and tie the ribbon in a bow. Place on lamp and admire. ■