The Pump Lamp and a Custom Lampshade

The Pump Lamp is a collaborative effort approximately 20 years in the making. Matt made the lamp and I made (OK, modified) a cheap-o shade for the nursery.

Matt made the lamp as a 7th grader in Mr. Campbell's Industrial Arts class. It required woodworking, sheet metal work and wiring. The handle of the "pump" is attached to the pull cord for the light. To turn the light on or off you have to pump the handle. The "trough" was made from discarded food cans from the school cafeteria. Every kid who took shop class for more than ten twenty years made a Pump Lamp. Matt's brother still has one and still uses it! I'm sure there are matching lamps scattered all over Matt's hometown.

Finding an appropriately rustic shade for the Pump Lamp has been a challenge. I think it should probably have a rawhide or punched tin shade, but the lamp wasn't in use so I never got around to finding one. When Matt declared that the Pump Lamp belonged in the nursery with the simple, sturdy furniture, I had to find a lampshade that would work. The hideous temporary shade had to go. I decided that I didn't want to emphasize the "rustic" style, so I went the opposite direction with a ridiculously whimsical shade.

I used the bubbly dot fabric that didn't make the cut for the nursery quilt project plus a little white double-fold bias tape in two widths. I had never recovered a lampshade before, but it wasn't exactly rocket science. I didn't sew anything, I just cut and glued the fabric to the shade.

The procedure is pretty simple if you start with a simple shade shape and a very busy print that requires no matching at the edges.
- Trace the shade and add a little allowance for overlap on all sides.
- Cut the fabric out.
- Use white craft glue thinned with a little water to glue the fabric to the shade. (A disposable paintbrush is worth it for this step.)
- Use a little more glue (not thinned with water) to secure the edges and the bulky tucks at the corners. The glue will keep the raw edges at the sides of each piece of fabric from fraying. It dries clear, so the edges just disappear into the busyness of the printed fabric.
- Use double fold bias tape to finish the top and bottom edges. I used a narrow piece for the top and a wide piece for the bottom. You could also put a vertical stripe of bias tape along the corners if your fabric doesn't allow the glued edges to blend in to the crazy print.