10 Free Crochet Lampshade Patterns for Every Shade Shape

Which crochet lampshade pattern fits your shade?

All ten patterns are free to open:

• Get the free Coastline pattern: Easy, 5.5 mm hook, free PDF from Yarnspirations, no sign-up required.
• Get the free Throwing Shade pattern: Easy, 3.75 mm hook, free PDF from Yarnspirations, no sign-up required.
• Get the free Dahlia pattern: 5.0 mm hook, on the designer’s blog.
• Get the free Granny Collage pattern: 3.5 mm hook, on the designer’s blog.
• Get the free Capiz pattern: Intermediate, 4 mm hook, on the Clover blog.
• Get the free My Blooming Lantern pattern: Intermediate, 5.5 mm hook, on the Clover blog.
• Get the free Lucida pattern: 5 mm hook, on the DROPS site.
• Get the free Dolly pattern: Intermediate, 5 mm hook, on Craft Passion.
• Get the free Lampshade cozy pattern: 3.5 mm hook, on the designer’s site.
• Get the free rice paper Lampshade pattern: 4.0 mm hook, a free PDF download on Ravelry, so save the file once you have it.

Which shade shape do you have?

Measure the top and bottom of the shade you will cover. Our crochet home decor guide shows where to put the tape. Then sort it:

• Straight drum or barrel (same top and bottom). Coastline and Throwing Shade are written for this. Dahlia works too, and Granny Collage needs the same diameter at the top and bottom.
• Slight taper, up to about 1 in wider at the base. Dahlia. Its notes allow a shade that widens about 0.5⁠–⁠1 in toward the base; the designer’s own shade goes from 15 in to 15.5 in across.
• Clearly tapered. Lucida, if your top is about four fifths of the bottom. For any other taper, Dolly gives a method: measure both circumferences and the height, work a 3 × 3 in swatch, and spread the decreases from bottom to top. Its sample goes from 46 to 36 stitches over 30 rounds, one decrease every 3 rounds. For a small lamp, the Lampshade cozy works top-down with increases and has you try it on as you go.
• No shade, just rings or a hoop. Capiz is crocheted onto a 12 in drum ring set, My Blooming Lantern onto a 14 in hoop, and Granny Collage can be sewn onto a bare frame. Here the yarn is the shade, so read the safety section below.
• Rice paper globe. The free Ravelry Lampshade, written for a 30 cm (about 12 in) lamp.

How many chains does a 12-inch drum shade need?

A 12 in (30.5 cm) wide drum shade is about 37.7 in around. Each pattern has its own gauge and stitch repeat, so there is no universal starting chain. The numbers below are our estimates from the original instructions, not tested alterations, for a shade 9 in (23 cm) tall. Make a swatch and hold the unfinished cover against your shade before you commit.

Capiz. This is the one pattern written for exactly this width: 156 sc around a 12 in ring, which is 37.7 in. It is 11.5 in tall, and the pattern does not say how to make it shorter, so a 9 in version would be your own untested change.

Coastline. The rule is in the PDF: circumference × 3.5, rounded up, minus 10 for the tight top band, then 10 stitches added back. That is 122 chains and 132 stitches. For height, keep repeating Round 22 until the cover is 9 in from the turning edge, and move the two treble rounds to about a third and two thirds of the way down, as the pattern’s own adaptation note says.

Dahlia. The pattern gives no gauge, but it gives a sample: 156 chains for a top 15 in across, which is 47.1 in around. That is 3.31 chains per inch of circumference, so 124.8 chains for 37.7 in. You have to land on a multiple of 12, because every 12 chains become 2 V-stitches, and the bottom edge alternates one large and one small point: 156 chains give 26 V-stitches, then 13 large and 13 small points. The designer says to err small, so 120 chains, about 1.5 in under the shade. Height needs no change: repeat Rounds 2⁠–⁠3 until you are about 1 in above the bottom edge, as written.

Throwing Shade. Size comes from the motif count, and the pattern gives only two sizes. The large size uses 12 motifs, a 39 in strip for a 40 in shade, so 12 motifs on a 37.7 in shade sit about 3.5% over. An 11-motif version would be closer but is an untested change: the I-II-III color order won’t come out even, and the edgings are written for 96 or 192 stitches. The pattern also gives no way to make the large size shorter than 11 in.

Lucida, for tapered shades. DROPS recommends making Lucida about 10% smaller around than the shade so it can stretch into place. Our calculations are close to the published stitch counts, but test your gauge and check both circumferences before choosing an in-between size.

How much yarn does a crochet lampshade cover take?

The table compares published project quantities, not a yarn formula: each pattern’s yardage divided by the shade surface (circumference × height).

As a rough planning check, several of these published projects use the equivalent of about 0.8 to 1.4 yards per square inch of shade surface. This is not a gauge or a dependable conversion between patterns: granny squares, dense stitches, tassels and different yarn weights can change the total a lot. Lacy patterns with tassels or pompoms sit at the top: the Dahlia’s 13 tassels alone take about 170 yards, at 40 wraps around a 6 in card each. The small Throwing Shade is the outlier, probably because its pompom trim is a bigger share on a small shade. Lucida’s grams are converted with the DROPS Nepal label; for tapered shades we used the average circumference, and the Blooming Lantern counts as a 14 in cylinder. Coastline lists 2 balls, not the yardage used, so it is left out.

Worked example, the same 12 × 9 in drum shade: 37.7 in × 9 in = 339.3 sq in. At 0.8 to 1.4 yards per square inch, that is roughly 275 to 475 yards, as a rough estimate only. Use your pattern’s yardage for its closest size first, check your gauge, and buy one extra ball. The Yarn Calculator turns yards into whole balls.

The Dahlia yarn mix-up. The pattern calls for Size 3 DK and says not to use a heavier yarn. The Ravelry listing for the same pattern says worsted and 200⁠–⁠600 yards, and the love. life. yarn. roundup repeats worsted. Go with the pattern text: DK. Our yarn weights at a glance table shows how DK and worsted differ.

How do the patterns hold the cover on?

None of the ten plans on glue:

• Tight top band (Coastline). The first rounds are ten stitches smaller and fold about ½ in over the rim, so the cover hooks onto the top edge.
• Stretch (Throwing Shade, Lucida). Throwing Shade stretches slightly to fit over a purchased shade. Lucida builds it in: 10% smaller around and 10% longer.
• Snug ring plus weight (Dahlia). The foundation ring should be snug, not loose; the beaded tassels weigh the bottom so the last rounds hang straight. The designer mentions glue only as a fix if the top ends up too big.
• Crocheted onto metal (Capiz, My Blooming Lantern). The first round of single crochet goes around the ring or hoop itself; Capiz works its last rounds over a second ring.
• Sewn on (Granny Collage). The finished strip of grannies is sewn to the shade or frame.
• Shaped to your shade (Dolly, Lampshade cozy). Dolly plans its decreases from your shade’s measurements and swatch; the cozy is tried on as you go.

The rice paper Lampshade listing does not say. For a cover you want to take off and wash, skip the glue.

Why doesn’t my crochet lampshade cover fit?

• It slips down. Check whether the top edge is meant to fold over the rim (Coastline) or stretch into place (Lucida, Throwing Shade). A loose starting edge may need to be remade.
• It bunches or flares at the bottom. Compare the cover with your shade at that height. A straight cover will not sit smoothly on a tapered shade; pick a pattern written for one.
• It stretches after hanging. Check your gauge and the weight of the finished fabric. Heavy fringe or tassels pull the cover longer.
• It is too short. Measure from where the top edge sits, including any folded band, before you add repeat rounds.

Is a crochet lampshade safe?

Use only an LED bulb that the lamp manufacturer permits; the Throwing Shade pattern rules out incandescent and halogen bulbs outright. Stay under the lamp’s maximum wattage: the Consumer Product Safety Commission warns that a bulb above the recommended wattage may overheat. Keep the crochet away from the bulb, the socket, other electrical parts and any ventilation openings, and do not use a cover that blocks cooling; the same agency has warned of fires when fabric touches a hot bulb. Skip clip-on shades, which a lighting retailer notes clip directly onto the bulb. Ring and hoop patterns like Capiz and My Blooming Lantern need particular care, because the yarn is the shade: center the bulb and leave space on every side. No yarn is fireproof: an extension fact sheet notes cotton burns with a hot flame, acrylic melts and drips, and open fabrics like lace burn more easily. Cotton yarn or a flame-retardant spray does not make a handmade shade fire-safe, and this guide cannot certify a homemade assembly as electrically or fire safe. More on bulbs is in our home decor guide.

The bottom line

Beyond Coastline, Dolly and Dahlia: choose Granny Collage for color, Capiz or My Blooming Lantern if you want the crochet to be the shade itself, and Lucida for a shade whose top is about four fifths of the bottom. Whichever you pick, swatch first and try the cover on the shade before you finish it.