Pop tab lampshade

After a lot of searching I was finally able to complete my project when I found the right lamp and light bulb size to go with my lamp shade. It was hard to get pictures that weren’t blinding light in them, but I think I got a couple of good ones. Enjoy!

Step 1- place the needle nose pliers at the thicker end and then just bend around the nose.

Take the tabs from step 1 and place them all around the top wire of lamp. You’ll want to bend the top part and bottom part of your tab close enough, so that the tab doesn’t fall off the wire. Also the bottom, thicker part of the tab will face out.

Step 3- Now take a tab and give it slight bend with your needle nose pliers. Or you could use a staple remover. I didn’t figure out this technique until I had already finished my shade, but seems to give it the perfect amount of bend and it will also make all the tabs uniform. Put the tab in pull side first and close the tool down so that one side holds the cuts and the “bridge” is over the metal edge on the other side. Press with your finger. Take wire cutters and cut the top ring of the tab in the middle, so that you can slightly seperate the left and the right.

This is the alternative step for 3. Put the tab in cut side first and close the tool down so that one side holds the cuts and the “bridge” is over the metal edge on the other side. And then just press with your finger

Step 4- Take the small cut and slightly push apart the left and the right parts of the tab. You don’t want to push them apart too far because then the tab can easily fall off. The bottom part of the tab will be out front and the two arms will meet around the back.

Step 4- My pictures for step 4 and really for every step, have been horrible and hard to see, so I found this picture and hope that it helps. It was the hardest step for me to understand, so I wanted to make sure I could have a picture for it. You want to follow the example, except continue in the ring shown in Step 2 and 4.

Continue until the first row and the second row are connected.

Step 6- I think this next step will depend on how large your lampshade wire is, but for the tiny one I used, it’ll be about three rows of step 3 before you reach this next step. After the third row, you’ll do step 3, but bend the tab the opposite way. This is so the lampshade will start to make that slope. You need only one row like this. After that row you will add a row of straight tabs. This is so the shade will continue to make that slope without getting tangled. After that row you will continue on as before in step 3.

Step 7- Section out the tabs so that there is an even number in each section and an empty section that has the same amount of empty space between each section. Also, the sections will start out wide and then get narrower. For instance. mine went as four at the top, three, two and then it connected to three clasps at the bottom and it had six empty spaces (the width of each tab) before it connected at the bottom. Without the space in between, the chain will be too tight and it will all just get tangled together. This is the my compromise for the sloped shade rather than doing it like I would the drum shade. The bottom is bent just like it is at the top, but my word of advise is to bend them around the wire first before trying to connect them. You’ll also need to cut the pull part of the tab just like you did the others. Also, if you would like to do a drum shade, just do the exact same except don’t worry about all the opposite and straight bending of the tabs. Thanks for reading and good luck!

Want more ideas? Check out my DIY page.