Make a Custom Lamp Shade Cover in Minutes

Today I want to show you an easy way to make colorful diy lampshade covers.  It is surprisingly simple and a great way to create a custom lampshade cover, I learned after watching chantier studio lampshades on social media.

This is the perfect way to update a plain lampshade or change the look of your lamp. In addition, if you find a lamp base you like at a thrift store or yard sale but it has an ugly shade or no shade at all, you can make a new lampshade with just a few inexpensive materials. 

You can even make different shades for the changing seasons or for holidays if you like.  I was inspired to make one after watching @chantier.studio (be sure to follow her on Instagram) and her amazing lamp shades.

​Supply List

• Lamp shade kit.  You can find these on Amazon or in most craft stores.  I am covering a drum shade but you can use this technique with any lampshade shape. You can find lamp shade kits to fit just about any shade shape and size.
• Spray adhesive
• Cheetah fabric.  I bought new fabric, but you could certainly use any remnants you have. It doesn’t take a lot of fabric, so get something that you really love. This fabric comes in all kinds of colors, if it’s one you like.
• Scissors

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Consider choosing a fabric that will let through enough light, so nothing too dark unless you are going for very moody lighting.

​How to Make a Lamp Shade Cover

If you prefer to watch a video of this, you can see it here.

• Press your material. If your material is directional, has a repeat or a top and bottom, hold the fabric up to make sure that you have the pattern the way you want it. For a cone shaped shade, you might consider clipping the fabric to your shade to make sure you like the way it looks before you trace and cut the fabric,

• Place the lampshade onto the fabric and weigh it down with books or other heavy objects.

• Trace a line around the lampshade with a pencil.  You need to allow enough extra fabric to fold over all the edges of the lampshade so trace about an inch away from the lampshade template all the way around. You can use a ruler if you prefer.

• Cut your material along the traced line and lay the lampshade template on the fabric to make sure it is a good fit.

• Apply a generous amount of spray adhesive to every bit of the wrong side of the fabric.  Shake the adhesive well before applying. You will want to place a towel or something on your work surface to protect it from the adhesive.

• This next step is the most time consuming part.  The adhesive takes 5-10 minutes to dry. This allows you time to maneuver the fabric to be sure you get all the wrinkles smoothed out. Just keep adjusting the fabric as you smooth it over the lampshade.  

• Flip the lampshade over and fold the edges of the fabric around the raw edges on the inside of the shade.

• For the final step I used a box cutter to cut a hole in the fabric so the rings could fit into the groove of the lampshade.  Having an extra pair of hands for this step is helpful as the lampshade has to go around the top and bottom wire rings at the same time.

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Here is the finished product and I love how it turned out.

If you liked this project, you might like how to make an envelope pillow or how to choose the right bedside lamp.