Whether you are making fabric lamp shades, or making lampshade fabric, we have materials that are perfectl...
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Handmade
There are two ways in which to use fabric when creating lampshades; you can either make lampshade fabric, or fabric lampshades.
Browse our range of lampshade fabrics
Soft, Matte, Woven, Poly. Linen look. Coarse weave, large fibres. Off white base. Not totally Opaque. Great for craft projects. Use: coats / garments, soft furnishing, craft projects, cushions.
100% polyester
100% cotton, classic Twill. 3/1 Twill weave. Medium weight, great for outer garments, light upholstery.
100% cotton
Basic plain weave, dyed white cotton calico. A simple cotton, dyed white for optimal colour.
100% cotton
90% PVC, 5% Polyester, 5% Cotton. Durable "leather" stamp effect leatherette. 30k Martindale rub test for durability, BS5852 cigarette & match FR test for UK domestic furnishings. Waterproof (BS3424.5A).
90% pvc 5% polyester 5% cotton
Elegant, stylish and utterly sumptuous short piled Chichi Soft Velour. Passes 30k Martindale rub test for durability, passes BS5852 cigarette & match FR test for UK domestic furnishings.
100% polyester
Plain Weave FR Polyester 145gsm
100% Polyester
Care instructions
Wash at 30°C, low tumble dry heat, hang to dry, do not wring, low heat iron.
Originally lampshades were created to project light, often created of semi-spherical reflectors that were placed inside oil lamps to help the light shine further, used in the late 17th century. In the 19th century when lighting was mass produced as gas in a factory and distributed out, the air became overheated and the gases used and created meant that the rooms needed ventilating; at this point lampshades were used to attenuate the light rather than to direct it. The invention of the incandescent filament electric light bulb in 1879 saw lampshades start being used in the way that we recognise them today; this was done to disguise the intensity of the electric light. Lampshades tend to be made from fabric, glass, paper, or plastic; popular lampshade fabrics include silk, linen, and cotton.
This is arguably the simplest way to create your own custom lampshades as a DIY project and can be done in a few simple steps.
Step 1: Choose a base
This can be either a plain lampshade, preferably in white or cream, or it could be a specifically designed inner material for a lampshade. This can be in any size or shape you like, but bear in mind that the more complicated it is, the trickier the later steps will be; you may find it easier to start more simply and then build up to the more complex designs.
Step 2: Make a template
You next need to make a template of your lampshade. This is most easily done by marking the lampshade, and starting on that edge. Lay a large piece of paper down and starting at the mark that you created, gradually roll your lampshade across the paper, marking it's path as you go, until you are back at your mark again. (If you have a round lampshade, you'll end up with a rectangle, it its more of a cone shape you will have a curved arc) Add approximately 1 centimetre around all of the edges, for when you are finishing your lampshade.
Step 3: Cut your fabric and apply
Using your template as a pattern, cut your customised lampshade fabric to size. Make sure you are happy with the positioning of your pattern on the fabric and it's placement. Once this is done you will need to fold up and press the extra centimetre you added around the edges; this will make up a seam. Apply the fabric to your lampshade lining, we would advise using a fire safe fabric adhesive and following the manufacturer's instructions.
Step 4: Finish
Ensure that your seam is stuck down over the edging of the lampshade, and allow to dry. Spray your lampshade with a fire-retardant fabric spray, again following the manufacturer's instructions and allow to dry completely. You now have your very own, personalised lampshade made using custom made lampshade material.
Slightly trickier to create, fabric lampshades are made by mounting your fabric onto a styrene backing and applying to a metal lampshade frame.
Step 1: Select your frame and make a template
For this type of lampshade you will be looking for a wire frame, or lampshade rings. A frame will provide the whole of the structure, whereas the rings will provide only the top and the bottom. Using the same method as above, create a pattern for your fabric, using the shade itself as measurements. Remember to add extra all the way around for your seams.
Step 2: Cut your fabric and lining
Using your template you need to cut your fabric and lining to size. Adhesive styrene, or pressure sensitive styrene is one of the most popular materials. It is an extremely thing polystyrene sheet with a sticky side to attach it to your fabric. Any fire retardant, fire proof or fire safe material can be used as a lining, but make sure that you don't use something that may overheat and could cause a fire. With a fire-proof lining, any fabric can be used to make the outside of your lampshade, cotton, silk and lined are the most popular choices.
Step 3: Piece together
Once all of your pieces are prepared, it is simply a case of putting them together. Remember to glue the seam of your shade together when you create the initial circle. If using a frame simply stretch your fabric and lining over the frame, pin in place and stitch. If you are using lampshade rings the easier way to do this is with bulldog clips; clip your fabric into a circle shape and stand it on its end. Carefully insert the ring into the top and clip into place around the top. Then using either a specially formulated lampshade adhesive, or by stitching, carefully secure your fabric over the ring of the lampshade. Once you have done, over-end it, and do the same tot he other end of the lampshade.
Step 4: Finish
Once everything is dry (if you used adhesive) or stitched (if you decided to hand sew) it's time to work on the finishing touches. This involves cutting off any excess, trimming fabrics and threads, and just generally tidying your fabric lampshade up a little so that it all looks perfect. Once this is done your lampshade is ready to be placed on your lamps or light fitting.
Your designs and photos are printed onto your choice of lampshade fabric using a modern printing process with binds eco-friendly inks to the fibres. This creates a deep and strong print which cannot peel and will last for years to come. Your printed lampshade fabric is expertly cut to size and finished with your choice of edge hemming before being sent out to you.
We print at 200dpi, which is a good combination of quality and file weight. Ideally, your image should be scaled to 100% at 200dpi; this means that no resizing of your file occurs, preventing any interpolation. Our design interface will have a quality marker next to the design that you have uploaded, this will change colour using a traffic light system and display a message. The message will let you know if the resolution is too low or if you have a good quality image.
When you upload your design our system will automatically scale it to fit your chosen fabric dimensions. In the ‘Product Options’ tab, the displayed dimensions under ‘Print Size’ will show the dimensions of the piece of fabric that you are ordering. For image/design dimensions you need to see the ‘Images & Text Tools’ tab. You can see and edit the dimensions of the image under the quality information next to the thumbnail.
We advise providing images in the RGB colour space. Specifically using the sRGB image profile, to achieve best colour results. What does this mean? In your editing software choose RGB as the working space, and assign the image profile as sRGB (full name sRGB IEC61966-2.1)
For most of our fabrics, there is no limit on the length of the fabric that you can order. We have a preview design window set up to 10m max to visualise the print, but that's not a print limit. If you'd like to order more, increase the quantity (x2 for 20m or x4 for 40m for example) and then you can order as much as you'd like, with a built-in automatic volume discount too. The maximum print width of each fabric can be found on the individual fabric pages or in our design interface.
Yes, that might help you! Always incorporate any extra space or boarders into your purchased fabric size. We trim squarely around fabric samples and fabric prints, leaving approximately 5mm white space. Cutting neatly on the line has an additional fee.
Crocking, which is fading along the creases, often after washing or heavy use, occurs when you digitally print on natural fabrics - more so when dark or dense colours are used. It can be minimised by using a cool hand wash instead of machine washing as the tumbling of the machine is the main cause of this. To avoid entirely, we would advise using a poly fabric.
Our organic fabrics do not have any coatings that the non-organic fabrics have. This means the ink absorbs into the fibres, reducing the colour strength slightly (by approx. -40%). For super strong colours we recommend a non-organic natural fabric.
Unfortunately not; we like to test meticulously so that we know what gets best results on our fabrics, and our facilities cater perfectly to them. We do however print sublimation paper to order, and if you have access to a heat press you can press your own fabrics easily.
For multi-coloured or very detailed files we recommend using a tiff format, but they must be flattened. For simple colours and low detail files, a jpeg is fine.
Just like many fabric printing processes, there is the potential for shrinkage. Depending on the fabric, please expect and allow between 2-8% shrinkage which you need to plan for in your dimensions. This percentage can vary from print run to print run and between fabrics, so we would advise ordering a little more material than you require for your project.
We do not offer to print on both sides of the fabric. A lot of our fabrics are semi-transparent or have some show through and this wouldn't work with double-sided printing. This is not a service that we offer on any of our fabrics.
At the moment no, our labels are all printed on the same satin fabric. We may introduce more in the future, but for now, this is the best choice. The labels are all cut the same way. You can order the fabric of your choice and make the labels yourself, but we do not cut different fabric into label format.
With environmental consciousness in mind, our fabrics are all printed using completely water-based inks. This means no chemicals or solvents are used. Our heat fixing procedure fixes the colours and prints, avoiding the downsides of steaming, such as excess or contaminated water returning into the waste system. We have one facility in London where we conduct all the printing, production and fulfilment. Rather than roll the fabrics, or send them in a tube, we fold them before they are sent out to you. This saves over 150 tubes a week, as well as a lot of space on the delivery van. (For delicate fabrics we ensure to package appropriately).
We work at improving our colour profiles all the time. Though rare it may happen that from one print run to another, and there could be slight colour differences, this is normal and part of the process when we are constantly improving. It is extremely unlikely that there will be a huge difference (like orange instead of red for example). Please bear in mind such colour variations can be intensified from fabric to fabric due to the varying grains and textures of the fabric; natural fabrics tend to have more muted colours than their poly alternatives. This is due to the construction of the materials as well as the print methods that have to be altered slightly for more delicate, natural textiles.
We have a full Cut & Sew service here at Bags of Love, and are able to hem your fabric prints for a small additional charge. We create a small one- or two-fold hem that typically uses 5 to 20mm of material, depending on the thickness of the fabric. So, for example, if you want a finished piece of fabric that measures 100 x 100cm, you will need to order a size of 101.5cm x 101.5cm to allow for the hem (on top of that please also allow for shrinkage of min 2%). The thicker the fabric, the bigger the hem will be. You can choose to have your prints hemmed with either Black or White thread. On our silk and other light woven fabrics, one hemmed edge will be straight (vertically down the roll) and the other will be slightly rippled. The hemming material allowances are as follows and you need to make your print bigger to accommodate the hem:
For further information about our fabrics see our FAQs.
Please note: As everything we provide is handmade to order, you may find a slight variance in the sizes.
