How to Sew an Easy Cottage-Style Slipcover for a Lampshade

I sewed an easy cottage-style lampshade slipcover—here’s a quick how-to using elastic for a custom fit, plus a little summer tick talk.

July’s Final Blog Post

Can you believe this was the last full week of July? The month has flown by!

I have friends visiting for a long weekend, so I’m keeping this week’s blog post short and sweet. I know many of you are busy too—thanks for making time to stop by!

Let’s talk lampshades!

I’ve always loved dressing up a lamp with an interesting shade. It’s such a simple way to perk things up—and of course, it’s a great way to bring both color and pattern (two of my favorite things!) into a room.

Lately, I’ve been noticing a new-to-me style of shade: a fabric slipcover that fits right over your existing lampshade. It’s a fun way to refresh a lamp—or even switch things up seasonally.

You might remember the box-pleated slipcover I sewed last year. I even wrote a tutorial for it. I still love its tailored details, but I’ll admit—it was a bit of a complicated project.

Recently I sewed a shade cover with a similar relaxed cottage look, but it was much easier to make. The secret? A band of elastic at the top to create the gathers and give a custom fit.

Today I’m sharing all the details—plus an easy how-to.

It’s the perfect little project for your next rainy summer afternoon!

P.S. I also had to deal this week with the aftermath of a recent unwelcome guest—a tick. Stick around after the lampshade how-to for a quick note on Lyme disease and general tick safety.

A Sweet Slipcover for a Rope Lamp

I’ve been wanting to make a change to the lamp on the drinks cabinet in the dining area for a while. The lamp was a gift, and I love its knotted rope base—it adds great texture and ties in beautifully with the nautical rope details hanging from the hutch in the opposite corner.

But something about it always felt a little “off.” Maybe it was too tall and skinny. Or maybe just too brown.

Last Sunday, I finally seized a free moment to do something about it. Inspired by a few Instagram accounts, I sewed a simple slipcover for the lampshade using leftover fabric from the sink skirt I made recently.

It turned out to be just what the lamp—and that corner—needed! The gathered cover, with its sweet little ruffle on top, is the perfect mix of tailored and soft. The gathers add some width to visually balance the height, and I made the slipcover just a bit longer than the original shade so it covers more of the lamp’s “neck.” The blue and white checked fabric feels both coastal and cottage, and it brings a pop of color to the corner while picking up the blue from the walls. It’s a cheerful complement to the floral shade fabric nearby, too—a nice little “mix and match.”

Here’s how I did it

This lampshade slipcover came together quickly and easily. Here’s a how-to!

Materials:

• Main fabric (I used a blue and white check left over from another sewing project) NOTE: You will need more fabric than you think to make the gathers nice and full!
• Liner fabric (I used a white cotton sheet)
• ¾-inch elastic
• Thread and basic sewing tools (including a machine)

Cut your fabric and elastic:

• Cut the main and liner fabrics the same size—2 to 3 times the circumference of the top of your shade (to allow for gathers), and at least 2 inches longer than the length of the side of your shade. I cut a piece that was approximately 72″X12″ for a shade with a 29″ top circumference and a side length of 9.5″.
• Cut the elastic a little shorter than the circumference of the top of your shade. (Err on the long side. You can trim it later.)

Sew the outer and lining pieces:

• With right sides together, sew the fabrics on all four sides, leaving an opening along one of the short ends.
• Trim corners, turn the piece right side out through the opening, and press flat.
• Sew the opening closed with a top stitch near the edge.

Create the casing for the elastic:

• Sew two horizontal lines across the top portion of the fabric:
  • The first line should be close to the top edge—this forms the ruffle.
  • The second line should sit just below the first, spaced slightly wider than the width of your elastic.
  • These two stitched lines form the casing for your elastic.
• Once the casing is sewn, use a seam ripper to carefully open the seams between the two rows of stitching on either end of the fabric. These openings will allow you to insert the elastic.

Sew the short ends together:

• Fold the slipcover, right sides together, into a tube and sew the short ends together, forming a circle.
• Be careful not to sew through the openings for the elastic. (You will need to sew two sections.)

Insert and finish the elastic:

• Attach a large safety pin to one end of the elastic and thread it through the casing via the slits you opened.
• Adjust the length as needed, then stitch along the seam line to secure the elastic and close the slits.

Slip the cover over your existing shade—and admire your handiwork!

You can read about the sink skirt I made with the same fabric here!

Pin this tutorial for later!

Tick Talk

I made a trip to the walk-in clinic this week.

An itchy bug bite on my inner arm had lingered for a couple of weeks. When I caught sight of it in the mirror the other night, I noticed a large, round, red rash had developed around the original bite. Alarm bells went off in my head.

It wasn’t the classic Lyme bullseye rash, but I’d been down this road before. A couple of years ago, I pulled an embedded tick off my hip, so knew what I was dealing with when the red rash developed. This time, I hadn’t seen a tick—honestly, I thought it was a black fly bite—but the telltale rash sent me straight to the doctor.

He prescribed a 10-day course of doxycycline and I was on my way. Thankfully, I caught it before any other symptoms developed. I should be just fine.

Knox County, where I live, is actually one of the epicenters of tick activity in Maine, but the risk is high throughout the state. In fact, Maine has some of the highest rates of Lyme disease in the country, along with increasing cases of anaplasmosis and other tick-borne infections. So whether you live here or are just visiting, it’s something to take seriously.

Here’s some helpful information to keep in mind.

What to know about ticks in Maine

Ticks are most active from spring through early fall and thrive in the brushy woods, tall grass, and coastal undergrowth that make Maine so beautiful.

The ticks that transmit Lyme disease are tiny—especially in their nymph stage—and their bites are painless. It’s very common not to notice a tick at all.

That’s why it’s important to know the signs of early Lyme disease:

• A red, expanding rash (not always a bullseye), which can appear weeks after the bite.
• Fatigue or muscle aches
• Headache, fever, or chills

The good news? When caught early, usually within 30 days of exposure, Lyme disease is very treatable. A short course of antibiotics—like the one I’m taking—can stop it in its tracks and prevent more serious symptoms down the line.

So take a moment to do a tick check after time outside, and trust your instincts. If something doesn’t look or feel right, don’t wait—get it checked out.

For more information on ticks and the diseases they carry check out the website for the TickEncounter Resource Center at the University of Rhode Island.

This Week Into Next

So that was pretty much my week—cleaning up after one “guest” and prepping for some others, much more welcome.

We finally had a stretch of beautiful weather—sunny and in the 70s. I got out on the water in my kayak one day. And soaked up plenty of porch time—in fact, I’m sitting out there now as I type these words. A beautiful blue and green view greets me every time I pause and look up to find the next ones.

Speaking of green, my limelight hedge is now covered in masses of small buds. They seem a little late this year, but I can already tell they’ll be spectacular, as always. I can’t wait to share them with all of you!

I hope you’re all settling into summer, as I am. Don’t be thinking about fall just yet—it’ll come in due time. There’s still plenty of summer to savor.

Next time I write here, it’ll be August—my favorite month!

Until then, take good care. Be kind to yourself and to others.