Is a paper lamp shade safe?

With an LED bulb, yes — that is the only bulb to use. An LED runs warm rather than hot, and the shade hangs from the holder well clear of it. A filament, halogen or other hot bulb against paper is a fire risk, and a candle is out of the question.

How do I fit it to my lamp?

The top ring has a hole for the lamp holder. Unscrew the shade ring from the holder, pass the holder up through the hole and screw the ring back on, so the card is clamped between the two — the same way a shop-bought shade hangs. Measure across the thread the ring screws onto and type that in as the hole; the ring always keeps 8 mm of card round it, and if the top is too narrow for the hole you ask for, the hole is eased back and the page says so.

Will it print at home?

Yes. At the size it opens with — 170 mm across the bottom, 90 mm across the top, 130 mm high, six panels — it prints on three A4 or US Letter sheets: two wall sections of three panels and the top ring. A bigger shade simply prints in more sections, each glued to the next by its tab.

Which card should I use?

Plain white card lets the light out only through the cut-outs, which gives the sharpest pattern on the walls. A translucent or vellum card glows all over as well. Set the light holes to 0 for a plain glowing shade.

Paper Lamp Shade Template — Free Pendant Lampshade, Any Size

The lamp shade template, flat and folded

Lamp shade template — free printable dieline with cut and fold lines, any size — The printable dieline at its standard size. Type your own size above for yours.

Lamp shade folded up from the template — the finished piece — The box it folds into.

What this template is for

A faceted pendant shade from three to twelve panels, open at the bottom, with a top ring that the lamp holder clamps — the way a shop-bought shade hangs. Diamond cut-outs let a pattern of light out through every panel. For LED bulbs only.

Also called paper lampshade · pendant lamp shade · geometric lampshade · diy lamp shade — all the same shape, and this is it.

Pendant shades for a bare ceiling bulb
Table and bedside lamp shades
Patterned night lights and mood lighting
Diwali, wedding and party lighting

How to use this template

All four downloads are the same lamp shade at the same size — only the format changes.

PDF printing at home: Print at 100 per cent, or hand it to a print shop as "actual size, no scaling".
PNG 300 dpi Canva, Photoshop, Procreate: Upload, lock it in place and design your lamp shade on top. Free plan and phone included. Full Canva walkthrough →
SVG Cricut, Illustrator, Inkscape, Affinity: Vector, with cuts, folds and labels on separate layers. Cricut and Silhouette walkthrough →
DXF Silhouette, laser and vinyl cutters: Two layers, CUT and FOLD — and the one free Silhouette Studio Basic will open.

Getting it printed properly →

Printing it

Type your size above, then download the PDF.
Print at 100% — never “fit to page”, or every measurement comes out wrong.
Too big for the paper? Pick your paper size and leave Fit the pieces to the page ticked: each piece gets its own place on a sheet and the PDF comes out with every page in it, nothing cut in half and nothing to tape.

How to put it together

These pictures are the lamp shade itself, not a generic diagram — change the measurements above and the template changes, but the three steps never do.

Cut the solid lines
Every solid line is a cut. Do the inside shapes first, while the sheet is still whole and easy to hold.
Score every dashed line
Dashed lines are folds. Score each one first — an empty ballpoint against a ruler — or the card cracks along the outside of the bend.
Fold, glue and hold
Cut the light holes and the holder hole first. Crease every panel line, roll each SHADE section and glue its tab behind the last panel of the one before, until the shade is one ring. Fold the TOP RING tabs down, push the ring into the top and glue the tabs to the inside of the wall. Unscrew the shade ring from the lamp holder, pass the holder up through the hole and screw the ring back on. Use an LED bulb only — it runs cool. A filament or halogen bulb against paper is a fire risk.

Glue: a glue stick for paper, white PVA on card — hold each seam thirty seconds, and let the box dry standing up.

Questions about the lamp shade

Is a paper lamp shade safe?: With an LED bulb, yes — that is the only bulb to use. An LED runs warm rather than hot, and the shade hangs from the holder well clear of it. A filament, halogen or other hot bulb against paper is a fire risk, and a candle is out of the question.
How do I fit it to my lamp?: The top ring has a hole for the lamp holder. Unscrew the shade ring from the holder, pass the holder up through the hole and screw the ring back on, so the card is clamped between the two — the same way a shop-bought shade hangs. Measure across the thread the ring screws onto and type that in as the hole; the ring always keeps 8 mm of card round it, and if the top is too narrow for the hole you ask for, the hole is eased back and the page says so.
Will it print at home?: Yes. At the size it opens with — 170 mm across the bottom, 90 mm across the top, 130 mm high, six panels — it prints on three A4 or US Letter sheets: two wall sections of three panels and the top ring. A bigger shade simply prints in more sections, each glued to the next by its tab.
Which card should I use?: Plain white card lets the light out only through the cut-outs, which gives the sharpest pattern on the walls. A translucent or vellum card glows all over as well. Set the light holes to 0 for a plain glowing shade.

Print your own design on it

Add a logo, photo or pattern in the panel on the left and drag it onto the lamp shade. It is trimmed to the cut outline, embedded properly in the PDF, and never leaves your computer — most free template sites hand you the outline and stop there. How printing your own design works.

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