Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Lamp Shades

PROFESSIONALS’ ILLUMINATING GUIDE TO CUSTOM LAMPSHADES

Custom lampshades can truly fit the lamp they rest upon. In order for that to happen, the lamp MUST be brought in for a proper fitting.

The lamp and lampshade must look to be “ONE” in the most Zen sense of the word.  If as “ONE”, the lamp as a whole fits in the room, you’ve shaded it properly!

Treatments can be Stretched Silk, Boxpleated Silk, Plissé Silk (even, undulating shirring), Knife Pleat, Silk (flat one directional pleats), and smocking of the Boxpleated Silk as well as of the Plissè Silk with and without various ribbons inside and outside of the pleats.

Calculate Yardage needed:

Boxpleat:

Take bottom diameter x 3.25 = N

Nx3=Length Needed for One Lampshade (not including self trim)

This assumes you are cutting along selvage.

Plissé & Knifé Pleat:

Take bottom diameter x 3.25 =N

Nx4=Length Needed for One Lampshade (not including self trim) This assumes you are cutting along selvage.

Stretch:

Take bottom diameter x 3.25 = N

N2+12" = width of _ pattern of ONE lampshade

Measure height of lampshade + 12" = height of  pattern of ONE lampshade

Example:

Yardage for ONE Empire 18" Lampshade that is 13.5" height 18 x 3.25 = 58.50

58.50  2 + 12 =41.25" (width)

13.5" +12" = 25.5 (height)

Therefore, if silk is 42" wide one would need 1.5 yards for the body alone, plus another _ yard for the self trim.

Note:

These are the bare minimum yardages with no room for mistakes or flaws in the silk. Please add another _ yard for self trim.