how to cover a tapered lamp shade...

Before I show you how easy it is to cover a tapered shade, I have to share a little fun

 from my weekend...I had a first! I met this adorable blogging friend, in person!

She is the cutest little thing, and every bit as delightful as I expected. She was visiting CO

 and her husband and son agreed to a couple hour detour on their way to the airport so we

 could have coffee. Thanks guys, so, so nice of you!!! She generously surprised me with a

 beautiful gift which has inspired a soon to come fashion post. :)

On to the lamp shade...  

Covering a lampshade is an easy diy, even if you think you're challenged in that area!

A tapered shade is just as easy if you know one simple trick.

I spied this floor lamp at HomeGoods, but the shade had a large rust spot on it,

perfect! I was planning to customize it with my own fabric anyway and I knew they'd

lower the price. I wasn't expecting them to come back at $36! Woo hoo!

How to:

First test your fabric to be sure it's heavy enough to cover the original pattern when a light

 is shining through. Mine wasn't so I did a quick paint job to cover the existing pattern.

Line up the seam on the lamp shade with the edge of your fabric. 

Make a pattern:

Roll the shade and follow along the edge, making a light pencil line,

 first at the bottom of the shade, then at the top of the shade.  

Stop when you get to the seam, you'll want to add an additional half inch

to fold under, where the seams meet on the shade.

Add an additional half inch to both the top and bottom pencil marks, this is the

extra fabric you'll fold over the top and bottom of the shade.

Cut the pattern out (oops forgot that photo).

Using your glue gun and hot glue attach the fabric,

 using clothespins to secure as you work your way around the shade.

When your seams meet fold the excess under and glue down the edge of the seam.

Since the amount of fabric you'll need varies depending on the diameter and height

 of your shade you can estimate by using the same procedure to make a pattern

 on a piece of newspaper. 

I used 1 1/4 yards of fabric 54" wide, and my shade was 11 1/2 " height, the 

perimeter of the bottom was 52".

Super simple custom shade!

This is a reading corner in one of the girl's rooms I designed a few months ago.

Did you notice a couple of my Ikea favorites? The chair and throw. 

The rest of her girly-teen room coming up tomorrow.