DIY No-Sew Pleated Fabric Lampshade

Making your own pleated lampshade will save you money and give your space a unique layer of charm. This tutorial is an easy way to upgrade any boring lampshade, and in just a few hours, you can have a customized look that’s easy on the budget. 

As I’ve been incorporating English-inspired design elements into our modern traditional cottage home, fabric pleated lampshades have been on my radar. They’re so textural, interesting, and often colorful. I just love them! But, these babies are expensive…like starting at $150 expensive. Now that I’ve DIYed these, I completely understand why, and it’s not just because they look cool. 

While this is a relatively easy DIY, it is time consuming. But, I don’t have the budget to buy these pre-made, so I figured out how to make my own DIY no-sew pleated fabric lampshades for Hannah’s NYC Apartment Meets English Cottage bedroom refresh. It took a few hours, but saved me hundreds, so it was worth it in my book.

Click through to learn how to make your own pleated fabric lampshade.

*This post contains affiliate links. I receive a small commission for each purchase made through these links, but it does not affect the cost to you, the consumer. Thank you for supporting Wildflower Home Blog. 

DIY No-Sew Pleated Fabric Lampshade

Materials Needed:

• 1.5 – 2 yards of fabric 
• Hot glue gun
• Hot glue sticks (a lot)
• Lampshade
• Wide bias tape
• Scissors

Measure and Cut Fabric | You can measure your lampshade from top to bottom and then cut the fabric accordingly, or hold your fabric up against the shade to determine where you need to cut (like I did). After cutting the first length, use that piece as a pattern to cut out two to three more lengths. You’ll need 3-4 lengths total and a little leftover for the trim. 

Attach Fabric to the Back of Lampshade | Run a line of hot glue down the back of your shade where you want your fabric to start and end. Then, attach your fabric to that hot glue and press down to make sure it’s secure.

Pleat and Glue Fabric to Top Rim of Shade | Once you’ve got that piece in place, you can start pleating the top of the shade. Put a dot of hot glue on the fabric where you want the pleat to lie, and then use your fingers to make a tiny fold in one direction and hold it down firmly for a second or two.

Repeat over and over and over until you reach the end of the length of fabric you are working with. You can choose to fold your pleats in either direction (right or left), and as long as you’re consistent, it’ll look good.

Just keep pleating and gluing and pleating and gluing. If you notice that your glue is not seeping through the fabric to adhere to the shade, just run a line of glue on the rim of the shade (underneath the pleats) and press all of your pleated fabric to it so it stays in place.

Pleat and Glue Fabric to Bottom Rim of Shade | Once all your pleats on the top are fully glued, start making your pleats on the bottom. As you are gluing down the pleats on the bottom rim, make sure to pull the fabric taut.  

You don’t want your fabric to be loose like this. 

As you are gluing down the pleats on the bottom of your shade, pull the fabric taut so the pleats form nicely and will stay in place.

After one length of fabric is fully pleated and glued down on the top and bottom, you’re ready to start the process all over with the next length of fabric.

*When adding additional lengths of fabric, you don’t have to run a line of glue down your lampshade and attach the end of the fabric. You can simply fold that end under, place a dot of hot glue at the top, middle and bottom of the edge of the fabric, and blend it in with the other pleats. 

You won’t even be able to tell where one length of fabric ends and another length begins if you just tuck the end under and disguise it as a pleat. 

Keep pleating and gluing all the way around the shade until you end up where you started, making sure you’re pulling all your pleats taut along the way and securing everything to the shade with hot glue. 

Trim Excess | Use scissors to trim off excess fabric. You want a nice, clean edge to place your trim on.

Make Lampshade Trim | Measure the top and bottom rims of your lampshade and cut two pieces of bias tape the same lengths. Then, cut two long, skinny pieces of fabric the same lengths and lay them out on an ironing board. Place the pieces of bias tape on top of them. 

Fold your fabric over the bias tape so there’s enough extra to tuck under for nice edges. Basically, you’ll want to mimic the bias tape with your fabric. Press it so it’s crisp. 

This is how your trim should look when you’re finished…

Attach Lampshade Trim | After both pieces of trim are cut and pressed, use your hot glue gun to adhere it around the top and bottom of the lampshade, being careful to cover up the ends of the pleated fabric. I found that trying to straddle the rim with the bias tape trim didn’t give a crisp edge, so I just laid it flat and glued down any loose fibers so it looked nice. I also cleaned up any jagged edges of fabric that were sticking out after I applied the trim.

Once you glue down the ends of the trim on the back of the shade, you’re done!

Admire | Always stand back and admire your work. Or, if you’re like me, walk away and come back several hours later to ooh and ahh over your project. I struggle so much with imperfections that I find it helps if I just come back later to admire my work (just me?). 

I was SO happy the night I finished these DIY no-sew pleated fabric lampshades because Jeff came into Hannah’s room and said, “Wow, those are remarkable! It looks like you bought them.” Sometimes it takes eyes that aren’t your own to see past the imperfections you know are there.

Whatever it takes, admire your work because you just saved yourself hundreds of dollars and made beautiful, custom, unique lampshades that nobody else will have. 

Yield: Pleated Fabric Lampshade

DIY No-Sew Pleated Fabric Lampshade

Print

Prep Time 2 hours

Active Time 3 hours

Total Time 5 hours

Difficulty Easy

Materials

• Lampshade
• Fabric
• Hot Glue Sticks
• Wide Bias Tape

Tools

• Hot Glue Gun
• Scissors

Instructions

1. Measure and Cut Your Fabric - You can measure your lampshade and then cut your fabric accordingly or just hold the fabric up against your shade and determine where you need to cut. After cutting the first length, use that piece as a pattern to cut out two to three more lengths. You'll need 3-4 lengths total and a little leftover for the trim. 
2. Attach Fabric to Back of Shade - Run a line of hot glue down the back of your shade where you want your fabric to start and end. Then, attach your fabric to that hot glue and press down to make sure it's secure.
3. Pleat and Glue Fabric to Top Rim of Shade - Once you've got that piece in place, you can start pleating either the top. Put a dot of hot glue on the fabric where you want the pleat to lie, and then use your fingers to make a tiny fold in one direction and hold it down firmly for a second or two. Repeat over and over and over until you reach the end of the length of fabric you are working with. You can choose to fold your pleats in either direction (right or left), and as long as you're consistent, it'll look good.
4. Pleat and Glue Fabric to Bottom Rim of Shade - Once all your pleats on the top are fully glued, start making your pleats on the bottom. As you are gluing down the pleats on the bottom rim, make sure to pull the fabric taut.  
5. Repeat With Next Lengths - After one length of fabric is fully pleated and glued down on the top and bottom, you're ready to start the process all over with the next length of fabric. Keep pleating and gluing all the way around the shade until you end up where you started, making sure you're pulling all your pleats taut along the way and securing everything to the shade with hot glue. 
6. Trim Excess - Use scissors to trim off excess fabric. You want a nice, clean edge to place your trim on.
7. Make Lampshade Trim - Measure the rim of your lampshade and cut a piece of bias tape that length. Then, cut a long, skinny piece of fabric that same length and lay it out on an ironing board. Place the bias tape on top of it. Fold your fabric over the bias tape so there's enough extra to tuck under for nice edges. Basically, you'll want to mimic the bias tape with your fabric. Press it so it's crisp. 
8. Attach Lampshade Trim - After both pieces of trim are cut and pressed, use your hot glue gun to adhere it around the top and bottom of the lampshade, being careful to cover up the ends of the pleated fabric. Don't try to straddle the rim with the bias tape. It doesn't give a crisp edge and ends up looking clunky. Just lay it flat and glue down any loose fibers so it looks nice. 

Notes

When adding additional lengths of fabric, you don't have to run a line of glue down your lampshade and attach the end of the fabric. You can simply fold that end under and blend it in with the other pleats. 

Okay, so now that you know how to make pleated fabric lampshades, are you going to attempt this DIY? I’d love to hear about your plans in the comments below. I received so many messages from you guys, wanting to know how to make these lampshades because like me, you discovered how expensive they are to buy. I hope this tutorial helps you add a bit of cozy, English charm to your home for pennies on the dollar. 

Happy DIYing!

You might also be interested in:

How to Make a Box Pleat Bed Skirt

Pom Pom Pillow Tutorial