What to do with an old ironing board cover...

(Or any other scrap of material for that matter)

Recently, our team of two were told to go on a team building exercise. Now, with two people, the usual outdoor activities don’t seem quite so appealing. So we sat down and thought about things that we both like to do and decided it might be nice to try out something crafty. Enter: Tea & Crafting!

Having looked at their website, we decided to go and make lampshades. As a part of the activity, we had to bring along our own material. In a scramble to find material the evening before, the ironing board cover took the hit. The idea is perfect, if you’ve ever had an ironing board cover that you’ve liked the pattern of that’s just too burnt/stained in one specific patch to carry on

Having found the workshop in the warren that is Camden Market, we were warmly welcomed by Jane. The process of making the covers couldn’t have been simpler.

The kits came with a piece of cardboard, the wire frame and some double sided sticky tape. After ironing the ironing board cover (a very odd activity) we set about sticking the cardboard to the material. The cardboard forms the drum of the lamp shade. Following this, we put the sticky tape around the wire frame before sticking it at the top and bottom of the material/cardboard combination. Once they were stuck together, hey presto! One lampshade. A quick google will bring up lots of lamp shade making kits, so if you’ve got some nice material you just can’t bear to part with, or fancy an upcycling project of your own, why not give it a go?