This simple Vintage or Country Chicken Wire lampshade craft project is a great way to remake any old lampshade into a new lampshade perfect for a vintage or country kitchen, family room, or crafting studio. You can use any old or damage fabric lampshade as the base for this Vintage Chicken Wire craft project to save money.
To make a Vintage Chicken Wire lampshade you will need:
Vintage or New Chicken Wire
Fabric Lamp Shade
Floral wire
Scissors
I find great Chicken Wire all the time at flea markets, home improvement stores, and even on ebay. I love Chicken Wire, but had to finally come up with something to turn it into!
Tip: Try to match your Chicken Wire size to your lampshade. You can find great Chicken Wire in a variety of sizes.
The first step is to completely remove all of the fabric from your damaged or existing lampshade. Start by poking some scissors through the fabric, then cut away. Once you have the body of the fabric removed then start working on the material wrapped onto he wires. This will take some time, but is a great way to save a little money and salvage and exiting lampshade.
Tip: If you don’t have a damaged or existing lampshade you want to get rid of you can buy these wire frames of a lampshade at any arts and craft store.
Now, go ahead and wash your Chicken Wire. You could also paint it with some milk paint for color.
Now, gently wrap the Chicken Wire around the lampshade. See how well the apron will fit on the lampshade. You only want it to overlap about an inch on the sides.
Now, run a bead of hot glue around the top border of the wire lampshade.
Gently press the top edge of Chicken Wire around it in place. You want the edges in the back of the Chicken Wire to meet in the back, but they can overlap a little if needed.
Now, if your Chicken Wire is the right length you can let it simply hand straight down over the lampshade.
If it is a little too long, then you can repeat the first step, but on the bottom ring of the lampshade.
Run the bead of glue and press the bottom of the Chicken Wire lampshade into place.
Use the same method to line the inside of the lampshade with some nice hand made paper so you are not looking directly at the light bulb.
You can also use floral wire o attach the chicken wire to the country lampshade. Just use tin snips to cut it.
NEVER use a bulb that has a higher watt than recommended in a lamp. For all of these decorative Chicken Wire lampshades I recommend using a low watt bulb. 25 to 40 watts at most. These are meant to be decorative lights. You can rely on other lamps and light sources to illuminate your home.
Never leave these lamps burning unattended. This is a good rule in general. .
Check out more of Rebecca’s Vintage Crafts.
