Making a pleated lampshade for the children's room

Creating your own lampshade is amazingly easy. All you need is a piece of beautiful wallpaper and an old lampshade from the flea market. Match the wallpaper you have on the wall or select a favorite motif. The possibilities are endless.

Fold the wallpaper in the form of a lampshade

 

Difficulty 

Medium

Time required

45-60 min

What you'll need:

  • Lamp with lampshade frame
  • Wallpaper of suitable size
  • Ruler
  • Bonefolder (it works just as well with the shaft of, for example, a spoon or a fork)
  • Folding knife or scalpel
  • Cutting mat or another surface to cut on
  • Hole punch
  • Double-sided adhesive tape
  • Glue gun or other glue may also be needed
  • Possible ribbon or string as decoration

Instructions:

Start by measuring the height of your lampshade; add a little wallpaper above and below to your liking. I had about 1 cm extra both up and down. Moreover, measure the lampshade circumference and bump it up a little. We are going to make a pleated lampshade and will need extra wallpaper. If you wish to make a cone-shaped lampshade, you will need a little bit extra compared to a cylindrical one like I am making here. Try different things. 

Photowall's wallpaper is 45-cm wide. If your lampshade's circumference exceeds that number, you will need to join several pieces. It is quite easy. Just cut out another piece as large as the previous one and tape them together with double-sided adhesive tape.

To get as precise a fold as possible, use your bonefolder or the back of a fork/spoon to gently mark straight lines at 2 cm intervals. Be careful not to tear or perforate the wallpaper but press hard enough to make a dent in it. This makes it easier to fold in straight lines later. 

Then fold along your lines like an accordion. To get really sharp folds, pull along the fold with your bonefolder or the back of the fork/spoon. The more accurate you are when folding, the nicer the end result. 

Perforate all folds towards the inside with a hole punch. Thus, there will be holes in every other fold. Make the hole slightly smaller relative to the lampshade frame; you just want to fasten the lampshade (wallpaper) to the frame. Ensure that all holes stand at the same distance from the edge. If you don't, the lampshade will appear skewed. Do the same at the bottom and adjust so that the holes end up at the right height.

Fasten the lampshade to the frame and, if necessary, attach with glue or a glue gun for extra bonding. If you want, you can also make holes around the lampshade and thread in a string or ribbon for extra decoration.

Pleated lampshade made of Whimsical Pink wallpaper 

You can create different lampshade versions depending on the lampshade frame you have at hand. Needless to say, you can also design lampshades without folds. Try it out and adapt your lampshade to your conditions. 

Pleated lampshade made of Brokiga Party 3 wallpaper

Remember to use light sources that don’t get too hot. LED lamps, for example, work great because they don’t get hot. 

Wallpapers shown in the post include Brokiga party 3, Whimsical Pink and Sonja Pink 

Anna María Larsson is a creator, inspirator and DIY professional. She is of the firm opinion that everyone is creative and can come up with ideas; it only requires a little training. She appears on a regular basis on TV, holds workshops and gives lectures. She shares what she creates and offers inspiration with her blog and Instagram account @dnilva.