Rated highly by our professional lampshade makers, ‘Lampshades’ by Katrin Cargill at first glance might look like a very average and potentially dated book, but digging a little deeper this lampshade making gem offer oodles of inspiration, excellent instructional techniques and lampshade styles from the 1990s that can easily be brought up to date. It’s time to soak up some more lampshade making wisdom! Katrin Cargill has written over 25 books on everything from making soft fu

‘Give us the tools, and we will finish the job’ the proverb says, but what if those tools were made the job twice as quick and offered all sorts of creative opportunities? This is where our NEW range of Olfa products comes in helping you improve your lampshade making, and we’ve selected three products we think you’ll love. Olfa Rotary cutter If you’re making lampshades en masse or simply want to speed up your shade making, using a rotary cutter to cut away the fabric from the

For today’s modern lampshade makers, there are plenty of sources of inspiration, but looking back at the styles, techniques, methods and materials used in vintage books, can literally be a light bulb moment, so we’ve fished out a couple of our favourites from the Dannells library. Lampshade Making History Lampshade making is a craft that has stood the test of time, since the invention of the light bulb in 1879 and its domestic introduction into homes not long after. The Victo

On opening the book, Sewing Lampshades by Joanna Heptinstall, our hearts skipped a little beat. Hit with an array of colourful lampshade images and a foreword from Joanna Heptinstall that oozes confidence in her craft, we knew that we were in for a treat. Time to grab a cuppa and take a seat on the sofa to read, read, read! Joanna Heptinstall was already a trained upholsterer when she stumbled across and old, damaged lampshade that needed some TLC. After plenty of research, s

50 Thrifty DIY Shades is book based around you guessed it.…decorative shades that can be made up of scraps of fabrics, bits and bobs and unusual materials. Packed with traditional lampshades and more quirky upcycling ideas for making shades, there are plenty of interesting projects, and skills, to get your teeth into, or as always to inspire your own lampshade making practise. When reading a book review we always find it interesting to found out a bit about the author and the

Lampshade making doesn’t have to be an off the shelf craft and can be as creative as your imagination will allow, a fact that’s proved over and over again, in Elizabeth Cake’s Make Your Own Lampshade book. Using her knowledge of collecting vintage fabrics and her passion for upcycling and recycling, Elizabeth has put together 35 projects that stretch your imagination and see what’s possible using everyday objects and second hand finds. Think clashing fabrics, cute crosstitch

Often referred to as the ‘go – to’ lampshade making book, Natalia Price – Cabrera’s book Handmade Lampshade certainly earns it’s moniker. Packed with essential information for starting to make lampshades, as well as hint and tips for seasoned shade makers, it’s full of practical step by steps project for soft frames and rigid shades. We thought we’d delve inside and tell you more about this ‘all you need to know’ guide on our favourite subject. Craft books come in all shapes