Learn how to make an easy no-sew DIY pleated lampshade with this easy tutorial using scrap fabric and an old lampshade.

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A lamp with an upcycled DIY pleated lampshade sits on an antique dresser

When I was a little girl, I had dreams of the perfect girly bedroom. Now I have my own little girl, my dream is to create a beautiful space for her!

But as a family living on one salary, I’m trying to put as much together on a budget as possible. Upcycling thrifted finds is a great way to save money whilst still managing to create the space I have in mind.

Most recently, I found this lovely old lamp and fabric lampshade at a charity shop for only £4.50, and I knew it would be perfect for her room. But it came with quite a plain lampshade that had turned a bit yellow, so I decided to use a piece of fabric to upcycle it into my own pleated lampshade.

This was a really easy project – so much so that I was able to do it with my two littlest boys running around my feet! It doesn’t require a sewing machine (or even any hand sewing), and the end result looks great even if it’s not completely perfect.

Here’s the step-by-step tutorial for turning a thrifted shade into a DIY pleated lampshade.

What is the best fabric for pleated lamp shades? Does it need to be fire retardant?

Since you’ll be covering the lampshade with another layer of fabric, it’s best to use lightweight fabric that will still let the light through. Light cotton or linen fabric will work best. Your fabric doesn’t need to be fire retardant. Most lightbulbs these days are LEDs, which don’t get nearly as hot as old-fashioned light bulbs.

If you’d like it to be fire retardant for other reasons, you can spray it with a fire retardant spray before your start your project.

How much fabric will I need for my DIY pleated lampshade?

It’s tricky to say, since it will depend on the size of your shade. To give you an idea, I used about 40 4cm strips for my small lampshade, so half a metre would easily be enough fabric (that is, half a metre of the full width of the fabric). A larger lampshade might require up to a full metre of fabric.

If you don’t have enough of one fabric, you could always try using several different pieces of fabric – I think that would look really pretty!

What is the best glue?

I find that fabric glue is the best for this and my favourite is this one. It’s tacky enough to hold the pleats in place and is designed to work with fabric. You could also try using a hot glue gun, but it sometimes shows through when the light is on.

a person holds up a bottle of impex tacky fabric glue

Can you create pleats on a tapered lampshade?

Yes! It’s a little more difficult than a straight shade but still doable. The trick to even pleats is to make sure that you space your pleats wider at the bottom than at the top. Keep adjusting as you go round to make sure that each pleat is going straight down.

Adding Trim to Your Lampshade

Most lampshades have trim at the top and the bottom to create a clean edge. I decided not to add this to my lampshade to keep it simple (and because my tiny ones needed me!) But you could very easily add a strip of fabric to the top and bottom of the lampshade to finish it off.

To do this, cut or tear a strip of fabric 2cm (1″) wide then press the sides in by 0.5cm (1/4″) on each side. You could also use ready made bias tape or even ribbon. Glue your strips around the top and the bottom. If you’re doing this you might want to cut back the pleats so they don’t wrap around to the back of the lampshade.

A person holding a thrifted vintage lamp in front of a cabinet.

More DIY Home Decor Projects:

DIY Gathered Lampshade
How to Make DIY Curtains
How to Paint IKEA Furniture

How to Make a No-Sew DIY Pleated Lampshade

Supplies

What you’ll need:

An old lampshade
Lightweight cotton or linen fabric
Fabric scissors
Tape measure or ruler
An iron
Fabric glue or hot glue
Ironing ruler (optional)

Step 1: Tear your strips of fabric

Start by tearing your fabric into strips about 4cm wide. Tearing gives you a really straight line and is much quicker than cutting. To tear your fabric into neat strips, make a small cut, grasp either side of the tear and pull the fabric apart hard.

It’s important to do this parallel to the selvedge (that’s the finished edge of your fabric) to get as neat a line as possible. If your fabric isn’t tearing neatly, you may be accidentally tearing across the grain (from one side to the other) rather than with the grain (along the length of the fabric).

A person cuts a piece of fabric into 4cm strips using a pair of fabric scissors

A person tears a piece of pink floral fabric.

Step 2: Prepare the strips

On each strip, fold back about 0.5cm (1/4″) along the long side and press. I find using an ironing ruler makes this a lot easier. If you like you can fold in both sides of the strips, but it’s much quicker to just do one side, and the raw edges will be hidden anyway!

At this point you could choose to pre-cut your strips to the right length for your lampshade, or you could choose to leave them long and cut them down as you stick them around the shade. I started off pre-cutting them and ended up using one long strip and just cutting it down as I went. I think the second method is much more efficient!

A person irons the folded edge of a piece of pink floral fabric

A strip of pink floral fabric with one long side folded in and pressed by half a centimetre

Step 3: Glue your strips onto the lampshade

Starting at the top of the lampshade, add a little glue and position your first strip on top, leaving a bit of the strip overhanging the top of the lampshade. Add another dot of glue to the bottom of the shade and then stick the bottom of your strip down, making sure your strip is straight.

If you haven’t pre-cut your strips, cut the strip leaving a small amount overhanging the bottom.

A person places a strip of floral fabric onto a lampshade

Repeat this process, making sure to cover the raw edge of the previous strip with the folded edge of the next one. I spaced my pleats about 1cm (1/2″) apart at the top of the shade, but you could use whatever spacing you prefer.

Try to keep the spacing even-ish but don’t worry too much because this is the kind of project where a little wonkiness just adds to the charm!

Step 4: Add the final strip

For the final strip of fabric, hold it in place (without glue) where you plan to place it. Then gently fold under the raw edge of the strip in line with the first strip you stuck on. Crease it firmly with your fingers, then bring it to your ironing board and press down along the line you created.

Glue it on the lampshade in the same way as the other strips, tucking the right hand folded edge so it sits neatly next to the first pleat.

An iron is pressing the edge of a strip of floral fabric

Step 5: Finish the ends of the diy pleated lampshade

Once all the strips are on, neatly trim the ends of the strips. Add a line of glue just inside the top of the shade and gently press down the excess fabric onto the inside of the lampshade. Repeat this for the bottom edge of the shade. You can use pegs or clips to help hold things in place if needed.

A person is pressing the raw edges of some fabric strips onto the inside of the lampshade

If you’d like to, you can add trim to the top and bottom following these instructions.

And that’s it!

A lamp with pleated upcycled lampshade on top of an antique dresser

If you’ve made your own upcycled DIY pleated lampshade, I’d love to see it! Tag me or drop me a DM on Instagram @aboderie.