How to Sew a Ruffled Lampshade Cover

Learn how to sew a ruffled lampshade cover that can transform any lamp from boring to beautiful in less than an hour.

I love adding a little whimsey and charm wherever I can throughout my home, whether that be creating a gallery wall of thrifted frames, nestling in brass candlesticks anywhere and everywhere possible or simply covering an unsightly lampshade. One of my favorite things to do is upcycle thrifted items. You can find all my past thrifted upcycles and makeovers here. You’ll find that it only takes a little tinkering to make an ordinary item in your home fit your style so much better.

To tell you the truth, the only lamp I ever bought brand new was back in college. You may know the cheap lamp I’m talking about. We had that same lamp for probably a decade before it broke and had to be replaced. That’s when I decided to start looking secondhand, and wow, I couldn’t believe how many quality lamps I was able to find at such a low price! I have at least 6 thrifted lamps in my home, including some beautiful (typically expensive) brass lamps, that I got all for under $15.

All that to say, I’m a sucker for a good thrifted lamp. And that rings true when I found a cute wooden lamp that was small enough to fit on my kitchen counter for $5. Yes, you read that right. The size was right, the wood was right and the shade was … well boring and a little dirty, but it was too good of a deal not to take.

So I bought that lamp knowing I would one day want to recover it in some way to add a little something extra to it. I’m a lover of the cottagecore aesthetic, so I wanted to sew a ruffle lampshade to go with this cottage-y lamp. I’m so happy with the result and it makes my kitchen so much more whimsical and cozy.

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Tips for Success

Set your tension and stitch length to the highest setting it can go. The machine will basically gather the fabric for you.
Take your time with the gathers. Pull the bobbin thread (bottom or backside thread) to easily gather the fabric at the top. Pulling on the top thread is so much harder to do and you can snap the thread.
Make sure to tie the threads together once the fabric is gathered. This is going to keep them in place.
After sewing the two short ends together, I like to serge the edge to make it nice and clean, but you can trim the excess fabric with pinking shears or use a zig zag stitch on the sewing machine.
This method works best on smaller lampshades, but can absolutely be done for larger shades with a little finesse.

How to Sew a Ruffled Lampshade Cover

TOOLS YOU MAY NEED

MATERIALS

Fabric of choice (1/2 yard+ depending on size of lampshade)
Coordinating thread
Hot glue sticks

DIRECTIONS

Measure the circumferences of the base of your lampshade with a fabric measuring tape. For example, for my small lampshade, this measurement was 32″.

Measure the length of the lampshade from the top to the bottom. For example, the measurement for my lampshade was 7″.

Do a little math and determine the size of the piece of fabric you need to cut. Here’s the breakdown:

Length of fabric= Circumference of the lampshade base x 1.5 (or more up to 2) +1/2″ (seam allowance)
Width of fabric= Length of lampshade from top to bottom + 1/2″ (top hem) + 3″ (or more for overhang on the bottom) + 1″ (bottom hem)
My example= 32″ x 1.5 + 0.5 = 48.5″ (length measurement) & 7″ + 1/2″ + 3″ + 1″= 11.5″

Cut your fabric to the determined length and width found in the previous step.

Starting with the bottom, fold the fabric 1/2″ and press, then fold it up another 1/2″, press and pin.

Repeat the same process on the top length of the fabric, this time fold the fabric 1/4″ and press, then fold another 1/4″ and press, then pin.

Stitch closed the top and bottom hems using a straight stitch.

Measure 1/2″ down from the top and sew a gathering stitch all the way across the length. I do this by increasing the stitch length and increasing the tension to one of the highest settings. This helps to create the gather on its own. Make sure to leave a tail.

Place the gathered fabric onto the lampshade, wrong side facing out, and adjust the gather stitch so the top fits nicely around the lampshade. Make sure to leave 1/4″ overlap on both short ends.

Once you’re happy with the gathers and it fits nicely onto the lampshade, remove the cover and tie the ends of the gathering stitch together with a triple knot and cut off the excess.

Stitch together the two short ends (right sides together) with a 1/4″ seam allowance. I chose to serge the raw edge, but that’s optional.

Turn the ruffled lampshade cover right side out and place it onto the lampshade, then se hot glue to attach it to the top of the lampshade.

NOTES

The longer the length of your fabric is, the more ruffled it will be. If you want a really ruffled lampshade cover, I recommend cutting the length at least 2 times the circumference of the bottom of your lampshade.
Choose a lighter weight fabric or something that will allow the light to show through (if that’s the look that you’re going for). Otherwise, find your favorite fabric and go with it!
If you don’t own a sewing machine, you can either do a running stitch by hand OR you can simply pleat the fabric around the top of the lampshade by hand.
To make this lampshade cover a bit more temporary, add elastic in the top instead of hot gluing the cover to the lampshade.

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR OTHER SEWING PROJECTS?

Looking for more sewing projects like this ruffled lampshade cover? Check these out!

Did you enjoy making your own lampshade cover? If you did, tag me on Instagram (@thesimplehomeplace) to show me your own recreation!

How to Sew a Ruffled Lampshade Cover

PIN FOR LATER!

Tips for Success