How to make a Lamp Shade

We, Nick mostly :), have made several of our lighted bottles into Bottle Lamps with Lamp Shades now.

This involves adding a lamp kit and coordinating lamp shade. The lamp kit is pretty easy to find, download our DIY Bottle Lamp eBook to get the link.

Finding a lamp shade that fits your bottle, style and decor is another matter altogether. If you’re anything like us, you want to save a buck or two and make your own.

Make a beautiful Bottle Lamp with a unique Lamp Shade

For under $5 (fabric, glue, etc.) you can have a custom made and unique looking, new lamp shade. Simply follow the six steps outlined below.

I’m sure you can make a better looking lamp shade than the one in this picture. We just used spray paint on it.

Here are the instructions to make a one of a kind lamp shade in six easy steps.

You will need the following to make a lamp shade:

  • An old lampshade in the size you want
  • Scissors
  • Spray glue
  • Paper, for tracing the pattern
  • Fabric
  • White glue

Step One:

Take your old lampshade and lay it down on your craft paper, or the back of wrapping paper. Starting at the seam roll and trace the bottom of your lamp shade until you arrive back at the seam. Then roll the lamp shade back in the opposite direction and trace the top edge. For the most common style of lamp shade, it will be a crescent shape drawing.

Step Two:

Cut out your paper pattern and place it on the underside of your fabric. Add a 1/2″ allowance on each side of the pattern for tucking around the edges of the shade. Also make sure to add at least 1/2″ to the seamed edge of the pattern so that you can have a smooth finished edge.

Step Three:

Cut out your fabric pattern. Spray your lamp shade with the adhesive. Tip: Carry your lamp shade outside and sprayed it in the yard.

Step Four:

Carefully lay your shade down on the fabric, lining up the raw edge of the fabric with the seam on the existing shade.

Step Five:

Glue the raw edges around to the inside of the shade. Use regular white glue, slightly watered down.

Step Six:

Now you can add any sort of embellishments that you would like, ribbon edging, fabric trim, buttons, pom-poms, tassels.

Find more DIY tips like this on DIYlife.

Leave us a comment if you’ve made your own lamp shades before, or know of a place to get  inexpensive lamp shades.

By the way, we’ll be starting a ‘brag’ page soon. Send in your DIY pictures and share them with the rest of us.

19 thoughts on “How to make a Lamp Shade

  1. This is a very good tip particularly to those new to the blogosphere.
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    this one. A must read article!

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  3. Nice post. I learn something new and challenging on blogs I stumbleupon every day.

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  4. Thanks a ton for using time in order to create “How to make a one of a kind lamp
    shade for your bottle lamp | How to Make A Bottle Lamp”.

    Thank you again -Halley

  5. It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d definitely donate to this outstanding blog!
    I guess for now i’ll settle for bookmarking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account.
    I look forward to new updates and will talk about this site with my Facebook group. Chat soon!

    1. Hi Garry, Thank you for sharing our content we truly appreciate it! As for the donation, we do have a Paypal account, sales[at]jagerfoods[dot]com, feel free to donate if you like. :)

  6. Hi Ayesha, It is really pretty easy to follow the steps outlined above to make a lampshade. I will try to add some step by step pictures soon, when it is not so hectic around here.

  7. Have been looking for a site and community just like this. My ambition is to take all the empty bourbon bottles I have save and make them into some beautiful lamps.

    Very interested in your site and will be back as soon as ${DAYJOB} allows.

    Best,
    Jim B.

    1. Jim,
      That would be very cool. Please let us know when you’re ready. We can showcase your bottle lamps on our DIY Show Off page and feature your shop when you get it up and running.

  8. I thought it was interesting that you mentioned adding extra decorations to your shades. My sister is looking to buy fun lamp shades but needs tips. I’ll be sure to talk to her about buying extra little decorations she can put on them.

  9. I am so happy that I have discovered this blog. It is so informative and fun. Excited to see this unique handicraft is still going on. I do have some bottles hanging around and I’m struggling to choose the correct lampshade size, especially if I am buying online, it’s hard to imagine the proper ratio.
    Perhaps if you may share with us the size you have used in this project (wine bottle) and also the sizes you prefer to use for the common sizes of bottles? Thank you and good luck with your blog :)

    1. Hoda,
      We are so happy that you found us! It is always a pleasure to help out a fellow bottle crafter. The dimensions of the lamp shade in the picture are 10.0 x 6.0 x 7.5 Inches. We have re-purposed a few old lamp shades in the past but we have also purchased some as well. Pairing the right lamp shade with the size of the bottle is easy as long as you keep a few things in mind; (1) Too big and it will look top heavy, (2) Too small and it will look like a bowling pin and (3) Match the shape of the lamp shade to the bottle (i.e. A square lamp shade to a square bottle).
      Happy Crafting!

      1. Nike,
        Thank you for the tip. Seems now I have to change the lamp shades I got in my shopping cart :) You saved me a fortune.
        Thank you again – I will be around to check your new posts! Keep it up..Cheers

  10. Where can I find a lamp shade that covers most of the neck of my wine bottle lamp. I don’t like the look of the ones that “ride high” with a lot of bottle neck showing. Those seem to be the only ones on the market. Thank you for your reply. PS Nice work – great blog! : )

    1. Hi Lorena, Thank you for your kind words.

      If you like to shop locally than World Market and Target are two stores that offer a nice selection of lamp shades. Of course, Amazon has a large selection of tall replacement lamp shades as well. Here is one to start with.. https://amzn.to/34B8Qu1

      Let us know which one you decide on and Happy Holidays!

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