Home Stories A to Z

Creating beauty out of chaos and sharing my home decor stories

How to Make Burlap Light Shades

When we rehabbed our home 3 1/2 years ago, I really wanted Tiffany lighting everywhere on my first level.  It was “in” at the time, and I liked how it paid tribute to the time period of the original architecture. But I’m very fickle, and less than 3 years later I wanted all new fixtures.  Obviously that wasn’t in our budget, so I got creative (which you can read all about in this post ) and made my own new-Victorian-cage-lighting.  

Hmmmm….meh.  I tired of this too after a few months.  Those bare-fake-Edison bulbs just weren’t doing anything for me.  So today, I decided to cover them in burlap.  What’s our niche’s mantra?  When in doubt?  Burlap to the rescue!  Isn’t that it?  No?  Quatrefoil to the rescue? Vinyl?  White slipcovers?

Anyhow, I took down all my nakey cage lights and dressed them today.  I avoid sewing at all costs and don’t do patterns either.  So to cover the large “shade” which is really just a large wire basket, I wrapped it in burlap and clipped it tight around the edges like so.

 Next, I trimmed the excess fabric.

For the center, I traced around the outside of the basket, cut the burlap, and then glue-gunned it all together.  Yes, glue-gunned is my latest verb.  And OUCH!  Burlap is extremely porous and I nearly blistered all fingers making these shades!

I wanted my “basket liners” on the inside of my shades.  Here is a close up of the glued edge.  It’s not perfect, but you can’t tell thast from a distance.  So let’s back up by all means!

And here is what it looks like hanging up!  Pretty cute.

And this picture doesn’t do it justice, but the texture of the burlap looks fantastic when lit up.

(For those about to comment that it’s a fire hazard, be sure to buy this stuff and spray your burlap with it.)

Next, it was time to cover the pendant shades.

Ah, so much better with some clothes on!
To make the shades, I freehanded a pattern and made adjustments as needed.
Once cut, it was just a matter of gluing the fabric in place!  Voila! Cute new lighting!

I’m really liking the look and loving that with some fabric and creativity you can create “new” lighting for yourself too!

Linking up with:
UndertheTableandDreaming
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Comments

  2. Glad I read this. I am recovering my lampshade with burlap and never even thought about the fire hazard! Thanks for the tip. Where do you buy that stuff?

  3. Hello Beth,
    Now this is one "cool" idea…love it! Come by and show it off at my NTT party.

    Blessings,
    Linda

  4. Hi Bet, This is the reason I love to visit you!! You are one very creative lady. I love the burlap cages.
    Hugs,
    Sherry

  5. Beth I am lovin the burlap shades – they look fabulous with the wire. Fantastic update. Have a safe trip this week – I sure wish I was off with all you girls! Tell everyone I said hi! Thanks so much for linking to the Sunday Showcase – I greatly appreciate it. I'll be featuring this today. Hope you have a wonderful week ~ Stephanie Lynn

  6. I'm a new follower and I'm working on a project with burlap too. Your lamp shade is a really different idea for burlap. Visit Mel's Cabin for a follow-up post and enjoy a cup of coffee with me.

  12. These are so cute! Burlap has definitely become my go-to fabric also. Thanks for the tip on the No Burn spray.

  13. Beautiful! And the fire hazard comment made me laugh because my face was all squished up thinking,"is that going to catch on fire?" and then voila, a picture of that fire retardant came up. Hilarious. And the comment about it's nice to have some clothes made me laugh, too. They are simply beautiful, and fun! I will tell you though that I love tiffany lighting, and have a ton of it in my house. I'm old school, what can I say?

  15. This turned out so cute! I love the feel of your kitchen now. The shades accent the new color so well.

  17. Yeah they definitely look better with some clothes on! Loving the look.
    I wish you and your glue gun burns a speedy recovery!!

  19. Being a burlap lover… I adore these. Great tip with the spray 😉

  20. Beth,

    they look great, I am so not happy with my light fixture over my kitchen table and it is only a few months old. I have been trying to get enough of these vintage lamp shade frames that I have found, but can't find enough. Thanks for the inspiration to do something to make it look better. Have a great night, Laura

  22. These look great! I love the way they look lit up especially. And that spray is genius. I'll have to keep that in mind if I ever do any projects like this.

  23. When I think you can't come up with more… BAM! You do something super cool and amazing! Love it!

  24. They look AWESOME, and your line "for those about to comment that they're a fire hazard" made me smile. And you know why. 😉

    Can't wait to hang out and laugh with you Bethy-poo!

  25. so? where did you get that 'basket' looking light in your kitchen the big one? I L_O_V_E that one and I'd like to just turn an old basket right into a light now;)

  27. They look fantastic, Beth! I had no idea that there was even such a thing as No Burn Fabric Fire Gard! Where'd you buy it?

  33. Well, you know I am going to love this because I love burlap! It looks great! I have a floor lamp in the guest house I am hoping to do something similar with. I just need an old wire lamp shade and some linen. 🙂
    If you get tired of the burlap, cover it in dropcloths. 🙂
    See you soon.

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