Making It Mine - Retro Lamp

Today I'm starting a new series called "Making It Mine".  The idea is I start with an old item I buy, then I change it somehow to put my own mark on it.   In this episode, we'll see what I do to a lamp I bought last month from a thrift store, sold without a shade.   In My Next Project, I gave you a peek at the lamp, trim, and fabric.  Now we'll see how they all came together.

The lamp was fine; all I needed to do was buy a shade.  Or so I thought.  I hauled that lamp to a bunch of stores, with no luck.  Being an old lamp, it needed a shade with the hardware at the top.  All the pretty shades had dropped hardware.  The only ones I could find with hardware at the top were cream colored.  That would have worked technically, but not emotionally, for me.  

I lucked out at JoAnn Fabrics where I found the perfect lampshade:  hardware on the top, correct size, and designed to be recovered with cool fabric. 

The first step is to remove the paper covering from the lampshade and use it as a template to cut out the fabric.  I realized there would be a curve, so I was careful to buy fabric with an overall, random pattern.  I knew that if I bought something directional (like a stripe or zigzag), that it would only line up on one side - the other sides would be off-kilter.

 

So far, so good.  I couldn't remember if the paper overlapped itself, so I cut a little extra at the back edges to make sure I had an overlap.  Turns out I didn't need to do that.

The adhesive on the lampshade had me worried.  I didn't want the fabric to flop down and get caught where I didn't want it to go.  So I pinned it back so that I could concentrate on just one section.

This is how I did the first side.  I laid the lamp on the template paper, so it wouldn't stick to my work table.  You can see the top edge of the lamp at the bottom of the photograph.  That's because the lampshade had a pitch to it, where the bottom was a bigger diameter than the top.  By placing it like this, I could easily see the entire side, because the slope was towards me, instead of away from me.

Line up the top and bottom edges of the fabric with the edges of the lampshade.  Being a square lampshade, there were distinct corners to match up which made it easy.  Then just apply a little pressure with your hand to smooth it into place.

To do the other sides, just rotate the lampshade so you have the next "blank" side facing up, unpin the next section of fabric, line it up, and press into place.

I used Aleene's Tacky Glue to secure the overlapped edge.  Then you see that green trim in the upper right corner, laying on my work table?  I used more of Aleene's glue to attach that trim to the top and bottom edges of the shade.  I don't have a picture of that step.  Just be sure that you start and stop where your fabric overlaps, so all your raw edges are on the same side.

And here's something else I learned after I was all done and turned the lamp on:  The shade itself has overlapped edges.  I didn't notice that, so my fabric overlapping is on a different side than the shade's overlapping edges.  Now when I turn on my light, I see a vertical strip on two sides.  Drat.

So here's my retro lamp.  It's really, really tall - nearly 34 inches.  The lamp base has an Art Deco vibe to me.  The lines look like the top of the Chrysler Building, as well as its elevator doors.  The lampshade fabric looks more like the 1960s, but that's OK with me.  I like both eras.