Unique Upcycled Map and Denim Lamp

4 Materials
$5
2 Hours
Easy

One of my favourite things is to personalize my upcycled projects by using maps of places that are special to me and my family. You can see all my past map projects here.


My other second favourite thing to repurpose is old jeans. so I was super happy when I managed to use both these materials, maps and denim, with this cool and unique floor lamp upcycle.


I especially love the old road maps printed on linen paper that you can often find really cheaply in thrift stores and online on sites such as eBay. But I often find elderly relatives have a stash of out of date road maps they are happy to get rid of.

I had an old outdated floor lamp and decided to give it the denim and map treatment.

The first thing I did was strip the lampshade down to the bare wire frame.

The next thing I did was to make a template of a section of the scallop shape of the wire lampshade frame. The template had a seam allowance of approx 10mm.


I then use this template to cut out the map shapes I need for the lampshade. My scalloped lampshade was made of 8 sections. So I cut out 8 map shaped scalloped pieces.

The next thing to do is to smear strong tacky glue onto one wire section of the lampshade and carefully stick down the map. Do not use the hot glue gun as that dries too quickly. You will want time to maneuver the map into place before the glue sets.

Place glue onto the wire of the next section of the lampshade. Also apply glue to the long edge of the next map section. As you stick down this map to the lampshade glue the two edges of the maps together along the 10mm seam. Carry on until the whole map is covered.

To tidy up the top edge of the lampshade I glued a velvet ribbon trim.

To the bottom scalloped shape of the lampshade I added a denim trim made from the seams of old jeans.


The next part of the project involved covering the lamp base and stand in denim. I started off with the base using a staple gun to secure the denim tightly.

Next using glue to stick them. I wound the seams and waistbands of old jeans around the lamp stand.

There are more photos and instructions on the blog post if you need them. Link at the end.

I think that the denim and map floor lamp fits in with my decor.


I've also just recently made another upcycled lamp which is proving to be very popular on pinterest. This time it's a table lamp made from a pickle jar and woven denim which you can see here.

Resources for this project:
Seams and waistbands off old jeans
See all materials
Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Hometalk may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.More info
Claire at Pillarboxblue
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Go
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
  1 question
Comments
Join the conversation
3 of 38 comments
  • Sue Lehde Sue Lehde on Jul 27, 2021

    Great idea ..... personally, I would have painted the lamp a denim blue versus wrapping the fabric. The base could also be painted and have road map type stenciling done. This is true inspiration !!! I have a lamp in my crafting room just waiting for this transformation!! THANKS!!!!!

  • Andrea Andrea on Aug 01, 2021

    Just what I’ve been looking for !!!

    our bedroom is done in “travel “ and this is the perfect lamp for our room. Thank you so very much for sharing

Next