I've had such a hard time finding replacement drum lamp shades that don't cost a fortune. The cheapest I could find was $35 for a small one and I need four... I also want a white look and a white glow as opposed to most who want the warmer yellow glow, so while a lot of shades look white unlit the inside is tinted and when you light it it's yellow. I realised I could probably make the shade I want better myself.
So from this shade that used to be white but has yellowed with age to this white, bright, clean looking one. Well actually I made two in one go. Only two more to go and then maybe I'll attack a bigger one too. It was easier than I expected. And fun too!
First I stripped the old fabric and laminate (the shade part) from the frame. The frame consists of one bottom ring and one top with bulb holder.
Here's what I used: The original frame, sticky back shade laminate from a local craft store, white linen fabric, white cotton ribbon, fabric glue, super attack glue and glue stick. Measure the circumference of your shade frame and cut the astralite accordingly.
I started off by sticking the laminate onto the fabric and trimmed off the excess. I did leave 1 cm / 1/4" at one end so the overlapped part would be easier to glue.
Then I put some fabric glue to the outside at one end and inside of the other end and let dry until tacky. This is the part I'm least happy about because the glue dries yellow and with the fabric being linen you can see a hint of yellow on the back of the finished shade.
To fit the shade onto the frame I placed the top frame ring down and pulled the ends of the shade together over it. I added a strip of cotton ribbon stuck down with a glue stick along the inside over the seam to make it look neater.
Then I removed the ring and put super attack glue along it on the outside, placed it on a plastic sheet (don't put paper down or your shade will stick to it) and placed the shade over it. I used the weight of my scissors to hold it in place while it dried. Then I did the same with the bottom ring.
After both rings had been attached I added the cotton ribbon trim to the top and bottom. I used glue stick for this.
After folding the edge of the cotton ribbon to the inside I ran my thumb nail along to make sure it stuck well everywhere.
Here's what it looks on the inside after it's done.
Et voilà, la lampe!
