Ruffled Burlap Lamp Tutorial

This was originally done for Crafting With the Stars.  The tutorial was posted on Tatertots and Jello last week, and now I'm reposting it so it will be on my blog too!

This is what I'm going to show you how to make today.  Jen showed me a picture of a lampshade from Anthropologie, and after thinking about it for almost a day, I came up with a way to recreate it using burlap.

This was the inspiration:

 In case you don't already have a lamp base, head out to the thrift store and grab one.  All you need is a can of spray paint to transform it into something fabulous.  I used Krylon blue ocean breeze gloss.

Now on to the lampshade.  All you need is the shade, some burlap, and a glue gun.  I used about 1 1/2 yards of burlap and probably 10 or so gluesticks, but what you use will depend on how big your lampshade is and how "ruffly" you want your shade.

First, cover the shade in a layer of burlap.  I cut a piece big enough to go all the way around the shade and fold over about an inch to the inside on the top and bottom.  I didn't want glue leaking through the burlap on the outside, so I only glued on the inside along the top and bottom of the lamp shade.  Pull the burlap taut as you go.

 Now you need to cut the rest of your burlap in strips. Cut them double the width you want your ruffles to be, and about 1.5 times as long as your shade is tall. Fold them in half and press.

Now you're ready to glue the ruffles to the shade.  Put several inches of glue on the fold of your burlap and glue it onto the lamp in a squiggly line.

This is the strip I'm gluing right now.  It's straight where I haven't yet glued it, and bent where it has already been glued to the shade.

As you go, don't make the burlap ruffle all the same way to add interest.  You'll end up with gaps, which you can fill as shown below:

The arrow is pointing to the gap.

And now the gap has been filled with a ruffle of burlap.

Here's a close-up of the finished shade.

Now your lampshade has gone from blah to beautiful!