How to make a beaded lampshade
From Habitat magazine - issue 13
Make the pretty lampshade from our winning room.
You will need:
- Wooden craft beads with good-size holes you can pass a wool needle through
- Wool needle
- Assorted ribbon
- Resene testpots in colours that suit your room – we used:
- Hot glue gun and glue (get adults to help)
- Wire and wire frame or inside of a lampshade (you could recycle an old one)
Step 1Paint wooden beads in assorted coloured paint then set aside to dry (thread the beads onto a pipe cleaner to paint them for clean hands). Prepare the lampshade frame. You may need to add wire supports as shown.
Step 2Thread the first ribbon through the wool needle and start threading on beads in random size and colour order. You can adjust the spacing later.
Step 3Tie the ribbon end to the frame, then push a larger bead over to hide the knot and loose end. Start weaving the ribbon in and out of the frame by going under then over both the top and bottom of the 2frame. Space the beads as you go.
Step 4At the top and bottom of the frame glue the ribbon onto itself, making sure the ribbon is taut but not so tight as to bend the frame. It should also hide the frame. Keep threading and weaving.
Step 5Change ribbon colour by simply tying together then push a bead over the join.
Step 6You might want to use some painted beads as legs on the bottom. Glue them on with the hot glue gun. Make sure you use a low wattage energy-saving bulb.
words and styling: Elizabeth Berge
pictures: Jason Berge