Antique Lamp Restoration Project Finished!

I'm back with another lamp! This one was quite an endeavor and I'm happy to share it with you today, while it is still #NeedleworkMonday.

Current Project - This one is called "Wedding Day"

"The alternating four large panels feature fabric from a 1920’s beaded silk flapper dress with a gorgeous embroidered chevron pattern. The smaller panels feature an antique metallic white and gold lace in a delicate scrolling floral pattern. The entire shade is finished with a delightful metal trim that is “new old stock” vintage material, and is very difficult to find.

The Making Process

The original lamp was quite a dusty old mess when it arrived. Dirty, scratched paint and a ratty old cord! I cleaned the lamp up and whisked it off to my electrician for new wiring and parts.

The frame wrap, installation of the lining and sew-on of the white silk charmeuse was nothing out of the ordinary for this shade, but I always enjoy sharing it with you to give you a sense of how much effort goes into making one of these beautiful shades.

I decided early on that I would use material from a 1920"s flapper dress to decorate the large panes.ls of this shade. The fabric is beaded and has a gorgeous chevron embroidery pattern in silk. For the smaller panels, I originally used lace from a 1910 dress. However, I felt that the shade needed more gold so I replaced dress lace with an antique white lace with metallic gold thread.

With the shade nearly complete, I set to work on the beads. For this lamp, I wanted a long strand that would create a chevron pattern that followed the line of the frame. The bead selection was actually quite difficult as, only three colors were desired; green, variations of white, and gold. I used milky Czech bi-cones, green glass pearls, lustrous creme pearls, gold plated filigree end caps and thousands of tiny gold beads. The shade holds 2,343 pieces.

This is what "inspection time" looked like while I was designing the master bead strand, while on the beading ledge. I think Dax did a pretty good job!

The Finished Lamp

Here's a few shots of the finished lamp. Looking pretty!

More angles. Woot!

This #NeedleworkMonday post is "Dax Approved".

Have a great week!

Happy #NeedleworkMonday, everyone!

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All images © @crystalize.