How to Make English Cottage Pleated Lampshades ~ Easy DIY

Hello friends, welcome back! Today we have a fun adventure!

I don’t know about you, but these chic, printed fabric lampshades have been appearing often on Pinterest & Instagram. They come in every size, color, and pattern adding unique personality and charm wherever they’re used. However, they are expensive ranging from $ 50 – $350. I have a hunch we can beat that! First, let’s rummage through the local thrift shop for lamps & shades, pop in the fabric store, and see what we come up with!

Finding Four Thrifted Lamp Bases

Holding up a milk glass hobnail lamp with a pleated shade in the thrift store aisle

Cream pressed glass lamp with a bell shade on a blue table, reflected in the mirror behind

Milk glass lamp with three hobnail spheres and a soft pink bell shade on a gold base

Lamps come in every shape, size, and style. You are sure to find just the right one to suit your needs! Here are three milk glass lamps. The lamp in the center picture was at an antique store, but the other two were less than $5 at the second hand store. The lamp on the right I purchased a few years ago and it makes a great dresser lamp for a bedroom.

Blue and white transferware lamp painted with a bridge scene, price tag still tied to the top

Holding a peach glass lamp painted with a white flower, brass foot below the socket

Blue and white china oil lamp base with a brass burner, set on a white quilt

Both blue lamps pictured here I spotted at the same antique store, but in different booths. On the left the lamp was $75. Gorgeous, but beyond the budget. The blue antique oil lamp on the right has been rewired to be electric, and it was only $8. This one came home with me! The curvy vintage looking peach lamp was only $2.70 and it came home with me as well.

Cream lamp base with brass fittings sitting in a thrift store cart by the book aisle

Red urn shaped lamp painted with a scene of Roman columns, on a shelf between other lamps

Milk glass lamp with a chrome stem and brass socket on a thrift store shelf

From left to right: I really liked the bell shaped, scalloped base of this lamp and brass details. I imagined the base repainted in a frosted jadeite. The texture of the brass work and faux turn key lent a vintage vibe as well.

The red urn, or trophy, shaped lamp in the center would look elegant with a black painted shade for an easy English study style.

Another milk-glass lamp base with pretty diamonds pressed in the glass. The metal needs a coat of antique brass to give it new life while still looking “vintage”.

Four thrifted lamp bases lined up on a lace runner: blue and white, green urn, and peach

Here are the lamps I’ve chosen for this thrift flip. From left to right I paid:

Blue ginger jar $16
Antique painted lamp $10
Chinoiserie “oil” lamp $8
Vintage peach lamp $2.70

Choosing & Measuring the Right Shade

Now we have our lamp bases, let’s find shades! First, I looked through the shades I had on hand.

For the vintage hand-painted lamp I had a bit of a Goldilocks moment… The first shade was too big… the second too small… but the last was just right! I simply swapped the harp fitting for a shorter harp to lower the shade.

Three panels showing where to measure a lampshade: the slant, the top width and the bottom width

For a balanced lampshade measure the slant, top, and bottom of your shade.

The height of your slant indicates proportion. For a traditional look this would be 1/3 of the total height of your lamp from finial to base. For a more modern look this could be up to 40% of your total height.

The top measurement on a steep empire style shade, like this one, should match the base measurement of your lamp.

The bottom measurement of your shade should match the distance from the base of your lamp to the bottom of the socket (which is where you screw in your light bulb).

How Fabric Color Changes the Light

Stacked cotton fabrics in red, aqua and cream laid out in front of three lamp bases

Here are the fabrics I’ve gathered to makeover the lampshades ~ I can hardly wait to see how they turn out!

Peach glass lamp base on a brass foot, standing on layered floral fabrics beside old books

Blue and white painted lamp base resting on green sprigged cotton fabric

One tip you might consider (that I learned along the way) is to consider the color of your fabric as this will affect the color of the lighting when the lamp is on. I ended up preferring the red polka dotted fabric as it gave the light a pleasant, warm glow. The green printed fabric is sweet, but it gives a greenish light that isn’t quite as cozy.

Pleating & Finishing the First Shade

Holding a shade with green sprigged fabric pinned into even pleats, yellow headed pins along the edge

Close-up of the shade's top edge, pins holding each pleat of the green leaf print in place

After measuring the shade for the width of the panel (plus two inches to work with), I cut the panel and began pleating. This is simple really, just time consuming. Make sure your pleats are the same size on top and bottom, or the entire panel will begin to twist ~ ask me how I know!

Partly pleated green shade on the table with cut fabric panels and a sewing machine

Finished green pleated shade on a blue and white ginger jar lamp, stacked on green books

Half way through the pleating I could see that more fabric would be needed. I cut and added another panel, then finished and added the self trim for a tidy finish.

The blue and white chinoiserie lamp with its plain white shade, before the fabric makeover

Chevron Pleats & Easy Box Pleats

Now on to the blue & white antique chinoiserie lamp! for this one I changed up the pleat pattern by turning the pleats towards each other every other pleat. This gave an interesting chevron effect.

Red pleated shade on the blue and white lamp, glowing beside a bookshelf and brick wall

It’s hard to choose whether this lamp, or the green vintage lamp is my favorite!

For the green vintage lamp I was inspired by this box pleated lamp. Since the shade is a drum style I won’t have to worry about the tapered sides and making smaller pleats at the top and larger pleats at the bottom.

Holding a blush silk box pleated shade trimmed with burgundy tassel fringe

Coral floral box pleated drum shade on the green and yellow urn lamp, framed art behind

This shade was the easiest of all since there weren’t tapered sides to deal with. If you’re new to pleating lampshades, I recommend trying a drum shade for your first project!

Rachel holding up two blue and white china lamp bases in front of a landscape painting

Thank you for joining me on this interesting project ~ I hope you enjoyed it and learned as much as I did! Until next time, take care,

Warmly,

Rachel

Join the conversation

Lisa Lowe April 1, 2022
Love your Chanel and now your Blog. So much wonderful inspiration and information. I am a Designer but with English roots, as I grew up reading the Colonial Homes magazines my Mother placed in our Living Room. Later in life, I did marry French pieces along side my beautiful English furnishings. Still, I adore Gallery Walls, English Lamps, Pattern Fabrics, and Classic, Traditional Moldings. I find your Chanel very fun and love your inspiration pieces verses your thrift finds. Keep on posting and I’ll keep watching. Sincerely, Lisa from Dallas P.S. Happy Thrifting.
1. violetgrey26 April 1, 2022
  Hello, Miss Lisa!
  How fun to see you pop up here on the blog! Welcome to the Stone Cottage Home, I’m glad you’re here. Like you, I also enjoy a mixture of styles… English, (true) Farmhouse, Colonial, with a touch of primitive. I’m so thrilled you are enjoying the channel & I’ve got more visits in the works!