Introduction: Doily Lamp

By solving problems like Maria
About: Former Instructables employee. Living in San Francisco amidst the fog. I love getting my hands dirty by taking on new projects, developing unique skills and learning fun facts.

It's time to give the dated doily a facelift - and what better way than really highlighting the unique lace patterns in a lamp! 

It took me a few tries, but after a bit of troubleshooting I've put together here an easy-to-follow tutorial so you can make your own Doily Lamp, as seen on reMade USA. Enjoy!

Step 1: Materials and Set-Up

 For this project you will need:
  • Doilies - I recommend getting more than you think you might need. Balloons are big, and it's nice to have flexibility with where you place the doilies on your lamp. I found all of mine on Ebay (search for lot sales of doilies, and you'll find a lot of options), and I'll bet yard and estate sales would also have plenty.
  • Wallpaper glue - After a few tries with different glues, I can confidently say that wallpaper glue will be your best choice. I found a powder at my local hardware store, and mixed it much thicker than the directions stated, so it had a slightly-more-liquidy-than-jello consistency. On my first try I used a watered down wood glue, and this proved to be too sensitive to a humid environment. After 1 night of San Francisco fog and open windows, it collapsed on itself. Not cool.
  • 3 ft round balloon - Sizing is optional, but you don't want the lampshade to run too close to the bulb itself. I recommend using a cold energy-efficient bulb, and not to risk any burning or melty glue. If you can't find a 3 ft balloon at your local party store, they're easy to get online. Round balloons tend to be thicker (read: stronger) than the standard oblong balloons, and so are less likely to pop. But might as well get 2...and not risk it.
  • Large paint brush - one that you won't mind getting a bit gluey
Optional:
latex gloves
spray starch
string for hanging - and some apparatus to do so. I used a ladder.

Step 2: Doily!

And so it begins. The gluing-hanging-drying phase takes quite a bit of time, it turns out, but the final product looks so much better when everything's had time to dry properly.

Taking your first doily, place on some newspaper and brush liberally with glue. It's fine to be heavy-handed here. When it's all good and saturated with glue, place on the top of your balloon, leaving a bit of room around the top, which is where your blub will eventually slip through. 

Repeat with more doilies, and be sure to overlap along the edges. You'll notice that the lamp will be weighed down with each added doily, and at a certain point you won't be able to add any more. When this first (approx. 1/3) of your balloon is covered, let dry as is.

A day or 2 later, once it's all dry, cut balloon from makeshift hanging, and prop up so an un-doilied side is exposed. Cover again with doilies, using the same method as before, and rotate when dry again. Repeat until the whole balloon is covered.

Optional: Once you have a doilied balloon, hang back up on your (ladder) hanging apparatus, and add another thick layer of glue for good measure. Allow time to dry. Then grab that spray starch and go to town spraying your balloon. I did multiple layers of starch, in addition to that extra glue, and ended up using almost an entire can. The spraying-and-drying time for this stage took about another week, but the extra stability's worth it if you have the time.


Step 3: Pop and Hang

Once everything's all dry (yay!) and you're confident in the doily's stability, it's time to pop the balloon. Grab something sharp, and poke a hole. The glue will hold the balloon agains the doilies, but the tension and pressure from the stretched balloon will eventually cause it to pull away. It's fine to get in there and do some pulling, too.

And you're all done! Enjoy your handiwork, and then hang that sucker. Grandmotherly accessories never looked so good.


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