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My prototype of a lampshade - looking for advice or pattern (lemmy.zip)
submitted 3 months ago by to c/crochet@lemmy.ca
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I am quite a beginner, and this is my first 3D crochet project. I fell in love with Marrakesh-style lampshades but couldn't find a pattern, so I tried to figure out one based on the general instructions from this page (project 5). The shade is worked entirely in single crochet using a 50/50 cotton/polyester macramé yarn. It has three metal rings crocheted directly into the fabric for structure. I kept things simple: whenever I increased or decreased, I always did it every 12 stitches. To change the angle, I alternated increase/decrease rounds with plain rounds, but I feel the profile could be smoother. The next version will be made with 100% cotton yarn. I'd love some advice on shaping. Is there a better way to decide where and how often to increase or decrease to get a smoother shape? Right now I mostly guessed and experimented.

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[–] 2 points 3 months ago* (1 child)

I'm barely a beginner myself but A: I wanted to say that's a really cool idea and B: being a beginner your hand will affect the shape. I'd try tactically moistening and letting the work dry into the intended shape. Actually with cotton you'd probably want to make sure it gets all stretched out so it won't get droopy over time. You could also stagger the increase and decrease spots that they are more evenly all around the work, rather than all in the same vertical line.

Also just as a note, be sure to use non-heating lamps.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 3 months ago

    Thanks! 😊 Yeah, it's for LED bulbs only, and in this one the bulb sits around the middle of the shade. I did try to stagger my increases and decreases by starting them at different stitch counts in each round. I think the overall shape is mostly determined by how far apart the increases and decreases are, while the bumps are probably more of a tension issue. One thing I know I did wrong was joining each round with a slip stitch. I started that way, but later I crocheted continuously in a spiral (I don't know if that's the correct term). Is there a better way to finish each round? I also made this prototype with a color-changing yarn because that's what I had. 🙂 I'll make the next one in a solid color, as I think the stripes make all the imperfections much more visible. So... no stripes for me, at least for now!

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