Project: Crochet Lampshade
This is another project from the Crocheted Houseplants: Beautiful Flora to Make for Your Home by Emma Varnam that my sister got me. When I read this book I thought all of the plants in it looked amazing but I didn't have room in the flat for around 20 fake houseplants. So in order to have a go at a little bit of most of the plants in the book I decided to fit as many as possible onto my old lampshade from university (and save an ugly lampshade from the bin).
I have enjoyed growing houseplants in the flat some of which I had a go at making. I have a big Boston Fern in the spare room and have successfully killed two Herringbone plants. It was interesting to think about how the plants grow, their shape and habit whilst forming the stitches. The stitches create a similar shape but in an entirely different way. There is something satisfying in a plant that never dies (a privilege not all my houseplants have enjoyed) and in emulating a purely natural shape.
I first painted the shade in a green under layer. Then stuck all the plants over the top with hot glue. The weight was then very imbalanced as some of the leaves where shaped with wire, so I stuck about 50p in 1p and 2p pieces under the leaves to even the weight out. So not this lampshade has at least a value of 50p.
The plants I had a go at where:
- Donkey's Tail (Sedum Morganianum)
- Curly Jade Plant(Crassula Ovata Undulata)
- Fishbone Cactus (Epiphyllum Anguliger)
- Century Plant (Agave Americana)
- Herringbone Plant (Maranta Leuconeura var. Leuconeura)
- Boston Fern (Nephrolepis Exaltata)
- Swiss Cheese Plant (Monstera Deliciosa)
