A simple pleated silk lampshade

I doubt someone seeing this simple pleated silk lampshade on the crystal table lamp between my living and dining rooms would have any idea of the work that went into it. Not to mention all the approach-avoidance angst. The minute I crowned the lamp with the newly completed shade, it seemed like it had always been there. And the flaws that were so disappointing to me as it sat on my work table also seem to disappear.

The original pleated fabric shade had begun to deteriorate some time ago, so when I came upon the book Shades of Light: Making Tailored Lampshades by Ruth De Fraga Gomes, I immediately ordered it. But possessing and perusing the book is rather like buying a pattern and feeling like you nearly already have the garment from it. After my initial enthusiasm, I reasoned that I had a good many other projects demanding my attention, so perhaps I would just buy a shade. 

 

 You would think that a simple pleated white fabric shade would be easy to acquire, but nowhere could I find the right size and shape, except by ordering a custom shade. So, since I already had the frame, and the detailed instructions, I decided it would be me making that custom shade.

The initial problem was with measurement: how many and what size pleats to make. There are six vertical metal supports (struts) around the shade that hold the top ring and the bottom ring together. Each section from strut to strut has to have the same number of pleats which are larger at the bottom than top because of the shape of the frame. After much (extremely frustrating) trial and error, using my sewing rulers to ever-so-carefully mark paper pleats, I switched from inches to centimeters (10s rather than 8ths or 16ths!) which made calculating the size of the pleats much easier. I then had the (absolutely brilliant!) idea of using a page layout program on my computer to make and print out a very precise ruler to mark the pleats on the frame and a pleat pattern for my fabric.

The first step was snugly wrapping the frame with a non-bias tape to which the pleated fabric and the lining would be sewn. I couldn't find the cotton tape specified by the book in this country but used a rayon tape which looks like seam binding. The one problem with that is that, despite wrapping it as snuggly as I could, it still could turn on the the metal frame, which meant that its position could alter the tautness of the pleated fabric sewn to it. Perhaps I should have been more generous in overlapping it as I wrapped. 

Step two was easy: fitting and sewing a lining using a knit fabric because it can be more easily stretched smooth. One half is draped and pinned to the outside of the frame and marked, then sewn to the other half following the marking. This is removed and set aside until after the outer cover is attached.

Oh yes, the pins! They're called lills, and they are very tiny and very easy to lose. But they are definitely just right for pinning to the tape-wrapped frame.

And finally it's time for the outer fabric. Just to be sure I had the measurements correct and exact, I tried pleating a couple of sections in muslin which I could visibly mark, and with that success, I was ready to move on to my actual fabric: white shantung silk purchased from Silks Unlimited on Etsy. Using silk rather than a synthetic is important because the fabric needs to be able to hold a sharp crease down each pleat.

My frame was 15 inches tall, so I cut the two yards of the silk that I bought into four 18 inch pieces. I was lucky that the 55” wide fabric was just wide enough to pleat two sections, so I needed three of the pieces for the pleated shade, and from the fourth I was able to cut bias binding strips for the top and bottom of the frame.

Because I had such an accurate marking guide I ironed my pleat creases prior to pinning them to the frame. Pinning through the shantung with the lills was more difficult than pinning through the muslin, but sewing on to the binding wrapping the frame was not as difficult as I expected it to be, (although I did get frequently pricked by the little lills). I sewed each section onto the bottom ring first, then made the pleats as taut as possible when sewing onto the top ring. After sewing, the excess fabric at the top and bottom which is needed to grasp and tighten the pleats while sewing is cut off.

Next the lining is inserted and sewn just over the top and bottom rings and the excess cut off as close to the stitching as possible. I finished the rings with bias binding which was only sewn on the inside to the lining. And the final touch was white gimp sewn to the the bias binding.

So... It wasn't cheap, although less than a comparable custom shade. It required a tremendous amount of time, as well as more or less learning a new skill. I can't claim that it was really a “creative” endeavor, as all I was doing was following directions as best I could to produce a very simple style. And there are flaws... If I had been making this in a lampshade class, I think I would have received a B+, but I'm okay with that. It's done, I'm satisfied with it. And I'm finally free to tackle a brand new project.