Quatrefoil Lampshade DIY

My quatrefoil lampshade post was somehow deleted and replaced with another post. So, here is the post again but shortened.

Materials Needed:

Upholstery Gun and Staples

Glue Gun

Plexiglass

2 Medium Quilting Hoops

Material for lining: Gold or Silver Leaf, metallic contact paper, or fabric. You choose!

Duct tape (to help the hoops stay together if your staples fail)
eye hooks
fishing line

Update:

Instead of dowel rods you can hang this with eye hooks screwed into the embroidery hoop's wood. And hang on the ceiling with invisible fishing line.

Separate the rings on each quilting hoop.  Pry the little wood block and screw off carefully with a flat head screw driver or butter knife.  Cut the wood hoops in half, making sure they are all the same exact size.

 Hot glue the 4 "flowers petals" together for stability. Let dry. Now, take your upholstery gun and carefully staple each flower together as in the above photo. Turn over and do to the other side. This is a very important step. Make sure your staples are in all the way and secure so your quatrefoil doesn't fall apart. If you are having trouble with the staples, try duct tape instead. If your fabric is thick enough so that the duct tape doesn't show through, it may work.

Now repeat the above steps for the other 2 quilting hoops.

 

 Next, measure your plexiglass and cut to size. We ran out and used what we had. This actually makes for an unattractive result. Your plexiglass will poke through your material. So learn from our mistake and make sure your plexiglass fits all the way around the inside of your shade. Hot glue the plexiglass inside of the quilting hoops.

*Tip

When cutting your plexiglass use a very sharp exacto knife. Score the area to be cut SEVERAL times then pick it up as if you are going to snap it in half and with very little pressure this should snap in half with a very clean edge. You won't have to worry about it splintering or the plexiglass shattering. Caution should always be taken when using plexiglass. It can cut you. Use Safety Goggles and gloves when handling. We had no problem with it.

 Cover the outside of your shade being careful to use lots of tension. Glue the edge of the fabric just inside the shade, using the wood ring as your guide.

 As I mentioned before, if you use the right amount of plexiglass, you won't have the above results. Remember this is our "rough draft."  We made another successful lampshade using the same materials.

Then, line the inside of your shade the way you did the outside, using plenty of tension and gluing where the other fabric meets Use the wood ring as your guide. Or, try gold leafing.

Cut away excess fabric.  Glue your ribbon or bias tape around the messy edges. Add ribbon to the outside if you wish.

Lastly, screw in 4 eyescrews into the wood and hang to the ceiling with invisible fishing line.

And you are done! This is our rough draft. We are going to make it over with fabric that isn't so wrinkly and the proper amount of plexiglass. .

**I seem to have lost all of my comments, again. Not sure why I have the wonkiest commenting system on Blogger, but if any of you needed me to get back to you about something, you can re-post here now that I have gotten rid of intense debates. Perhaps the change back to blogger caused me to lose the comments. Sorry!