Workshop #5: Lamp!   See more photos below. Class Description:  In this workshop adventurous participants will be lavishly rewarded with an incredible work of fiber art! The base is a little tricky, but the lampshade is a piece of cake! So take a chance. If you are a generally crafty person, don’t miss this! You will go home with a lamp that will tickle your heart and amaze your family and friends! Supply List: An inexpensive Lamp.  An old one will do, or there is a good selection at Target. The lamp in the photo happens to be 25 inches high. (When it was at Target, it was brushed silver.) One sandwich bag of Selvages (cut about 1 ½ inches wide) Scissors Needles, thread and thimble Long strips of Batting, cut about 2 or 3 inches wide. I used about 3 strips of Warm and Natural batting that were 90 inches long. Masking tape

Directions:

Step 1:  Abandon the idea that there is one right way to do this. Think about the pioneers who crossed the country in covered wagons and other “can-do” people. Okay, now you are ready.

Step 2:  Cut long strips of batting. Start at the bottom of the lamp base. Begin wrapping the batting around and around to make the lamp sort of padded and squishy. I wrapped the batting under the base, too. If you are a nurse, you might think of this as bandaging the lamp. Use masking tape as necessary.

Step 3:  Starting at the bottom again, sew the selvages to the batting using a running stitch near the bound edge. Go around and around, working your way to the top. When you run out of selvage, attach some more.

Note:  As the shape of the base changes, there will be a need to:

1. Gather in extra “fullness” by sewing a running stitch along the raw edge, OR
2. Clip the raw edge every inch or so to ease the tightness.

Step 4:  Lampshade. If your shade is 7 inches high, for example, cut your selvages about 13 inches long. That way you can fold about 3 inches over the top of the shade and 3 inches under the bottom of the shade. If you have less “fold-over”, you will see masking tape when you are admiring your finished lamp. Put a piece of masking tape at each end of the selvage and tape it to the shade.

Then, covering the raw edge with the bound edge of the next selvage, tape the next selvage on. Continue all around the lampshade.

When you are handling your lamp, these suggestions will become clearer. You will invent your own techniques.

Please remember to send photos of your lamp to SelvageQuilts.com!