I need to lampshade this trope. No, seriously, lampshade.

November 28, 2012 7:12 AM

I want to make a jute lampshade, or rather, several trapezoidal pieces of jute stretched over wood frames that will act like a lampshade. I know almost nothing about jute, or lampshades, but plenty about wood.

I really like the look of this lamp, but I want to build a not-quite-similar thing on my own. I can find jute/burlap online, but I have no idea how to specify "I want thin, loosely-woven jute that will transmit light like that, not thick, tightly-woven jute like a burlap sack." Is there a word for that? Or should I just hit up a local fabric store with a flashlight and fiddle with what's on-hand?

Also, no idea how to best stretch the fabric over the frame, once I make the frame. I'm thinking if I look at how artists stretch canvas, I should get a fairly good idea, but that method assumes you wrap the canvas around the frame, which I'm not 100% sure I want to do — that lamp looks like the fabric is just stapled/glued to the structure of the lamp, which may be not-a-bad-idea.

posted by Alterscape to Home & Garden (1 answer total)

Best answer: To me, that fabric looks like a coarse linen more than a jute or burlap. I think your fabric-store-and-flashlight idea is actually your best bet. (Oddly, this is the second time this week I've suggested someone bring a flashlight to a fabric store.)

As it looks like the fabric is inside the wood frame, you should be able to use, basically, the same technique for artists canvas, but instead of wrapping, you staple to what would be the "front" of the canvas, which then becomes the inside of the lamp. You can also glue the fabric in place so that you can remove the staples when it's dry.
posted by Morydd at 8:35 AM on November 28, 2012