"How To" Tutorials & Tips

'How To' Tutorials & Tips

May 12
3 min

How to Use a Rolled Edge Creasing Knife to Cut Lampshade Panels

If you’re wanting to explore bespoke sizes or shapes of shade, or simply enjoy cutting your own lampshade panels, then you need to know...

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Apr 26
7 min

Tips and tricks to achieve a professionally tucked in lampshade edge

Tucking in your fabric seam allowance is the final stage of making your Lampshade Making Kit, which gives your shade a wonderful and...

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Mar 2
3 min

DIY Tutorial - Parchment Fluted Lampshade

Making your own lampshades means the sky is your limit in terms of the materials, design and shape you opt for and today's Parchment...

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Jan 27
3 min

DIY Tutorial - Macrame Lampshade Fringe

As we're now stocking a fabulous range of Macrame cords we couldn't resist, combining this on-trend craft with our Lampshade Making Kits,...

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Dec 17, 2021
3 min

Christmas DIY - Mini Chinese Lanterns

Our Mini Chinese Lanterns are a great alternative to bring festive red and yellow into your home and are brought to life using electronic...

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Dec 10, 2021
2 min

Christmas DIY – How To Make A Rustic Rope Light Wreath

An easy alternative to a more traditional wreath, we’ve enjoyed putting together this more rustic version, made with glittery hessian, a...

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Dec 2, 2021
3 min

Christmas DIY - Scandi Trees Embroidery Hoop Light Cover

Hunkering down for a little hygge is just what's needed as the winter sets in, so we've taken the popular influence of Scandi interiors...

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Nov 18, 2021
3 min

Christmas DIY - Festive Mini Cracker Light Garland

Sprucing up your Christmas displays with a handmade decoration or two is a fun way to spend an evening in the run-up to Christmas. Our...

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Nov 12, 2021
2 min

Christmas DIY tutorial - Luxurious Art Deco Lantern

A touch of gold never goes a miss at Christmas, so we’ve jumped on the gilded bandwagon and have put together this Luxurious Art Deco...

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Oct 18, 2021
2 min

DIY Tutorial - Upcycled Halloween Lanterns

Halloween is annual celebration where anything goes! Costumes, pumpkin carving, huge piles of sweets…there’s plenty of excitement and fun...

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Sep 9, 2021
5 min

Back to school skills - How to print fabric

The ‘back to school’ feeling is in the air and as children head off to school to learn something new, September naturally becomes a time...

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Aug 18, 2021
2 min

DIY tutorial – Bottle lamp adpator + lampbase upcycle

Our bottle lamp adaptors are a great way of enjoying your favourite spirit and making a table lamp, surely a winning combination? For...

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Aug 3, 2021
2 min

DIY Tutorial – Summer Stick It PVC coasters

Bring bright bold colours to your summer dining with our fun and easy to make Stick It PVC cork coasters. As with all our Needcraft kits...

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Jul 6, 2021
2 min

DIY Tutorial - Make and Paint Kit Scribble Sharpie shade

Our Make and Paint Lampshade Making Kits are for exactly what it says on the box, making and painting, but in our quest to try new,...

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Jun 15, 2021
2 min

Father's Day Make - Bottle Lamps with The Haines Collection

With Father’s day on the horizon, it’s time to get your thinking cap on to make a gift that shows how much they mean to you! Whether it’s...

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May 24, 2021
3 min

DIY Tutorial - Vintage Doily Dreamcatcher

Garden parties, BBQ's, camping trips or alfresco cocktail parties, however you're seeing friends over the bank holiday weekend, bring a...

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Apr 27, 2021
5 min

Lampshade Inspiration - The art of free machine embroidery

Via our #memadeshade Instagram competition we’ve seen our lampshade makers use a variety of art and craft skills, as the basis for making...

394 views0 comments

Mar 30, 2021
3 min

DIY tutorial - Felt Flower Easter Wreath

What better way is there to celebrate Easter than with a little easy crafting? This door wreath is a lovely way of welcoming in the...

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Mar 24, 2021
3 min

Washi tape clock making kit DIY tutorial

Perfect for personalisation, our range of Needcraft Kits take minimal effort to make but deliver maximum impact. Fantastic for adding...

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Mar 4, 2021
3 min

Mother's Day Make - Mini Empire Fairy Light Shades

There is nothing nicer and more satisfying than hand making a gift for someone else - especially if that's your Mum or someone you hold...

578 views0 comments

Feb 24, 2021
3 min

Lampshade Kit Hack #6 - Starry Night Lampshade + FREE Template PDF

Highlighting our professional cutting service in our last blog post got us thinking that it would be fun to explore a DIY version of the...

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Jan 29, 2021
4 min

Lampshade Kit Hack #5 - Happy Holidays Map

Hands up who’s dreaming of a holiday escape? 🙌🏻 We Britons love our holidays - a day by on the beach, playing in the sand and sea...

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Jan 11, 2021
3 min

DIY Contemporary Plant Hanger tutorial

As our homes become our castles again, why not turn your time and talents to making this cool and Contemporary Plant Hanger that will...

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Jan 4, 2021
4 min

5 resolutions to kickstart your lampshade making year

Happy New Year! We’re finally in 2021 and we’re hoping it’s a better and brighter year for everyone. To celebrate our craft and your...

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Dec 21, 2020
2 min

Christmas Gifts – Easy hand-decorated truffle box & truffles!

A homemade gift is often the most thoughtful gift and with time to spend in our kitchens cooking up treats this year, sweet treats are...

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Dec 11, 2020
1 min

Christmas decorations - DIY Festive Balloon glass lamps

So if you're a fan of the blog you'll know that we shared this festive project before, well last Christmas actually :), but we loved it...

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Dec 3, 2020
3 min

Christmas Decorations - Duo of DIY mini wreaths

With plenty of evenings to fill, our duo of DIY mini wreaths are the perfect festive project for the run up to Christmas. Ideal for...

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Nov 17, 2020
3 min

Christmas Decorations - 'Little circles of bright' DIY tutorial

It’s nearly time for the festive ritual of putting the Christmas decorations (although we’ve seen a few up already and we say ‘why...

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Nov 9, 2020
3 min

Christmas gifting - DIY Decoupage sewing box tutorial

Did you know DIY gifting has double the benefits of buying shop bought? Not only are you making something thoughtful and handmade, but...

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Oct 30, 2020
4 min

Lampshade Hack #5 – 4 ways to add lampshade trims

Check out our tips on four different ways to apply a professional trim to a Dannells Lampshade Making Kit!

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Oct 15, 2020
3 min

DIY kid’s Halloween lantern with FREE PDF templates

Perfect to occupy the kids for a morning, these creative Halloween lanterns are super easy to make using our free PDF template download.

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Oct 8, 2020
2 min

Halloween printed lantern kit DIY tutorial with FREE PDF templates

Halloween is nearly upon u! Make this simple, but effective DIY printed lantern, to create your very own bespook (!) Halloween decoration!

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Oct 2, 2020
3 min

How to make a birdcage lampshade DIY tutorial

Bring colour and a sense of humour to your home, by making this DIY birdcage shade on a budget. Follow our step by step tutorial!

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Sep 24, 2020
3 min

'Back to school' - Ways to refresh & reorganise your craft space

The darker evenings, mean time for creative projects so why not refresh your craft space with some of our Needcraft kits?

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Sep 17, 2020
4 min

Liberty Patchwork Lampshade DIY Tutorial

We're fans of traditional ditsy florals with eye catching colours so decided to mix things up with some patchwork techniques and a shade!

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Jul 27, 2020
3 min

Unicorn gold lined lampshade by Three Bears Prints

Unicorns are here to stay! A trend that has pervaded everything from children's and adult fashions, to toys to homewares, unicorns are a...

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May 28, 2020
5 min

'Bee happy' lampshade with a vinyl interior by Three Bears Prints

First in our series of shade collaborations with Marliese of Three bear Prints is this 'Bee Happy' shade with a vinyl interior.

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Feb 5, 2020
4 min

Valentines DIY - How to make a printed heart motif lampshade

Valentine’s day is looming and we believe that celebrating your creativity with this DIY printed lampshade will make your day!

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Dec 12, 2019
2 min

Christmas DIY tutorial – Balloon glass candle shade lights

As Christmas approaches fast our attention is turning to the smaller details and for us the Christmas dinner table is one of the most...

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Dec 4, 2019
4 min

DIY festive decorating – Festive foliage wreaths & lantern making kits

Home crafting and DIY decorating is a given at Christmas. It’s the ideal time to show off your craft skills or try your hand at making...

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Sep 10, 2019
3 min

How to apply Vinyl Covering to a lampshade

If you’ve made lampshades before or even if you’re just starting out as a lampshade maker, it’s easy to see that the fabric you use is...

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Aug 5, 2019
2 min

Top 5 household tools for making lampshades

Although our Needcraft lampshade making kits contain everything you need to make a super professional looking shade, we’ve rounded up...

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Jul 10, 2019
3 min

Go geo! Make a hexagonal shade

Making your own lampshades, means you can avoid the predictability of what the high street has to offer, but also bring a special soft...

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Jun 26, 2019
4 min

Luxurious lampshade making – hints and tips for using luxury fabrics

If you’ve ever owned a luxurious dress, blouse or shirt made from a special or fine fabric you’ll know it needs a certain amount of TLC...

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Mar 27, 2019
3 min

Children’s bespoke lampshade by Three Bear Prints

With Mother’s day around the corner, Marliese Richmond of Three Bears Prints, shares with us the process of capturing special children’s...

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Jan 2, 2019
2 min

How to cut handmade lampshade panels like a pro!

We asked our Lampshade making group what they use to cut PVC lampshade panels and this is what they said… Good old-fashioned scissors and...

112 views0 comments

Dec 18, 2018
3 min

How does a shade carrier work?

What is a shade carrier and how does it work? We know that not all of you know how to use a shade carrier, or think it looks complicated...

1,653 views0 comments

Dec 7, 2018
3 min

Lampshade making tips: How to tuck fabric around the rings on a drum lampshade

Do you get frustrated with bulky and unsightly fabric around the top and bottom rings (rolled edge) of your handmade drum or coolie...

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Nov 22, 2018
3 min

Finishing touches for making the perfect handmade lampshade

You’ll wish you knew about these years ago! Luckily for you, we have access to hundreds of lampshade makers (738 and counting!) as well...

217 views0 comments

Nov 14, 2018
2 min

How to make Christmas fairy light lanterns

That special time of year is fast approaching! It’s time to start thinking about what sparkly decorations you want to make to give your...

370 views0 comments