Monday, January 28, 2013

CLOTH CHANDELIER







I was inspired by one of my favorite blogs to attempt this cloth chandelier. And I must say, it is my favorite DIY project I've ever done, so thanks Elise + Emma from A Beautiful Mess for this idea! You can find their tutorial here. A few things I did differently...

1. Instead of a cookie rack, I used this decoration hanging up in my friend's (Michelle, aka twinner) kitchen. I liked that it was big and oval...and free!
2. One trick about fabric is you don't have to cut all those strips by hand! If you just put a small cut at one end, you can tear it all the way down, saving you lots of jagged edged cuts and hours of frustration.
3. I'm not the biggest fan of sewing, so I decided to just tie the fabric in knots around the bars and it worked! 
4. I used the cheapest white fabric I could for the bulk of it, with a coupon I think it was 75 cents a yard. I bought some nice creamy fabric and a few yards of chunky lace for the outer edges to keep it soft. I wanted the chenille they used but I couldn't find it in any fabric stores! Sad day.
5. I cut all my strips the same length and waited until they were all on to add or remove strips. Most importantly, I waited till the end to shape it to look like a chandelier.

Lessons learned: 
1. DO NOT buy LED lights, this beautiful chandelier went from elegant to a scary halloween decoration in a second, haha.
2. Don't hang this yourself if you are not 100% confident. We have cement ceilings, so I asked my handy father-in-law and the husband to take care of that part of the project. 

Let me know if you attempt this project. I highly recommend it if you need something to take your space up to the next level but don't want to spend a lot of money. I also think this would be cute if you dyed the fabric giving it an ombre effect. 

Joanna

*I was asked about the lighting situation...It is lit up by white Christmas lights strung throughout the cloth. Also, I tested the lights for multiple hours and they never got hot, so no fire hazard :)


19 comments:

  1. Really cute! I especially love the photo of your reaction! I have been anxious to try something similar to this, but sort of afraid it might catch on fire.. :-/ You haven't had this experience have you?

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    1. Thanks! I was worried about it catching on fire, too. Before I hung it up, I left the lights on for an entire day while I was home to see and by the end of the day the lights were not even warm!

      Thanks for stopping by!
      Joanna

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    2. Good to know! Thanks for taking the time to check and let us know. :)

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  2. Where did you purchase these items?

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  3. How do the lights work if they aren't plugged in?

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    1. Hi! The lights are plugged in. I used a white cord and it blends with the wall.

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  4. i would also love to know what kind of lights youre using, they dont seem to be plugged in...

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    1. Hi! The lights are plugged in. I used a white cord of Christmas lights and an extension cord and it blends with the wall.

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  5. This looks amazing. I have to admit, it might even be better than the one on ABM blog. Eek! :)

    Quick question, I also don't like to sew, so when you say you tied knots around the bars, did you pull the fabric up and tie the knot evenly in the middle of the fabric or did you just tie the end of the fabric in a knot to the bar? Hope that makes sense! Thanks in advance! Hope mine looks nearly as good as this one!

    xx

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  6. This is so cute!! Do you sell them?!

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  7. My daughter is in the midst of making this for her sister for Christmas, I am in love with how it's turning out! Had a hard time finding a circular rack that was larger than 9". However, we went to home depot and bought a replacement grill rack for a charcoal grill! It's perfect!!!

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  8. My daughter is in the midst of making this for her sister for Christmas, I am in love with how it's turning out! Had a hard time finding a circular rack that was larger than 9". However, we went to home depot and bought a replacement grill rack for a charcoal grill! It's perfect!!!

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  9. BEAUTIFUL!!! Do you know about how many strips you used?
    Thanks for posting.

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  10. Did you string the lights before putting on the fabric or after you put the fabric strips on??

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  11. how is it you don't see a chord? and unclear about the knots in fabric/no sew, several people inquired but i see no response...

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  12. my friend's daughter sent me a pin to do this for her birthday in august. thanks for the inspiration!

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  13. Love it! Would you have any idea how many yards of fabric you used? We’re your strips about 2 iches wide?

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  14. Can you tell your pattern for cutting

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