Easy, No-Sew DIY Lampshade Cover Using a Scarf

Looking to give your lampshades a new look for the holidays or the winter season?  Try my easy, no-sew idea to cover and cozy them up using a scarf!

One of my favorite additions to our home this year is the IKEA Tarva dresser I transformed to use as a sideboard in our kitchen.  I topped it with two glass lamps that I love, but their blue and white geometric lampshades weren’t quite working with this year’s holiday decor:

I wanted to cover the shades with something warm and cozy, and I love the look of my friend Beth’s DIY Sweater Lampshade Tutorial, but I was interested in something temporary that I could easily remove after the holidays without doing any damage to my shades.  While browsing Old Navy one afternoon I spotted these chunky cable-knit scarves in the perfect shade of red and knew I had to make them work somehow.  After a few different attempts I found an easy way to make it work without damaging the shade or those gorgeous scarves!

I’m a visual person so I took pictures of each step, but don’t let all these photos scare you – this is a super easy DIY project.  If you can tie a knot you can do this!

(Click on photos to enlarge.)

1.  Wrap scarf one time around lampshade, pulling it snug so it doesn’t shift or slide down.
2.  Make an opening through the top of the cable-knit where it meets the top tassel, and pull the top tassel through.  (I just used my fingers for this part, but you could also use a large crochet hook if the knit you’re working with is too tight.)

3.  Make an opening through the cable-knit where it meets the 2nd tassel, and pull the 2nd tassel through.
4.  Tie the 1st and 2nd tassel together to hold your scarf in place.

5.  Continue pulling tassels through the cable-knit, working your way down the entire length of the scarf, and knotting every 2 tassels together to hold them in place.
6.  When all the tassels are pulled through, wrap the remainder of the scarf around the lampshade.

7.  Untie the top 2 tassels on the right that you previously knotted in Step 4.
8.  Now you will knot the top tassel on the right with the top tassel on the left (the other end of the scarf that you just wrapped around).

9.  Continue untying the previously knotted tassels on the right, re-tying each one with its match on the left.
10.  Keep the tails of your knots tucked down so they are covered by the next knot below it.

11.  Continue knotting tassels, working your way all the way down the lamp shade.
12.  Tuck the final knot’s tails up to hide them, turn the lampshade so your knotty work is in a less visible spot, and you’re done!

There’s typically a kitchen table in front of the sideboard but I moved it out of the way to get the living room shots and didn’t move it back before taking this one.  A bit of a fail, but I wanted to share it anyway because it catches Kate’s Christmas Countdown Advent Calendar!

Stay tuned for my 2013 Holiday Home Tour, coming tomorrow!