I've had two projects in mind that needed this type of fabric, so I bought a couple of metres of it.
An idea bubbled up in my mind late last year. Christmas was coming, so it wasn't the right time to work on it. With Christmas out of the way, the decorations packed away, I was free to work on the idea: An outdoor floorlamp.
Oh yes, people, a floor lamp for the garden. Gardening programmes are always suggesting to make 'rooms' outside, so that's sort of what I've done, using the garden bench as the core of the 'room'. I needed to buy three things. A large lampshade, some plastic pipe, and some oilcloth fabric. Fairy lights would be used to provide the light, so no need to buy those as there are lots of outdoor fairy lights in the garage.
A trip to the DIY shop came up with a large lampshade at half the original price. I perused the guttering aisles for some plastic pipe, and was about to get a two metre length of downpipe, when I spotted something much better suited. A two metre length of the delightfully named 'waste pipe', which was thinner and £4 cheaper.
Once home, I asked the husband to cut the pipe down to the right size, but to leave around 6 inches spare to be hammered into the ground. He also drilled a hole in the back for me. This meant the wire of the fairy lights could be dropped down the centre of the plastic pipe and hidden completely.
With the weather being grey and drizzly (possibly snowy? Please?!), the lampshade needed something to protect it and prevent mould from setting in too soon. That's where the oilcloth came in. Using the usual technique for making [lampshade covers], I used the oilcloth to make a loose fitting cover that flipped over at the top.
The thinking is that rain should just wash over it, rather than sit on the shade, causing mould. I know over time that's exactly what will happen, but at least this will stop it from happening too quickly. I've no doubt at all that I will need to replace the shade at some point.The fairy lights are just piled up, and attached to the top of the plastic pipe as best as they could be. They don't need to be bundled up neatly as they're not really seen - apart from the odd bulb or too, but that looks rather nice seeing them peeping out.
It doesn't throw out a ton of light, it's more of a cosy glow in the garden, but this is something that I really wanted to do. As soon as I thought of it I knew I had to do it. It's really quite strange to look out in the evening and see what looks like a floorlamp out in the garden, but it's rather nice too. In summer it will be lovely to sit out there as night falls, glass of wine in hand.
The total cost of this project was approx £11. £1.90 for a metre of oilcloth (bought two metres, but most was used in another project)
£2.09 for the waste pipe
£7.49 for the lampshade
£0 for the fairy lights!
It isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I love my floor lamp. The husband thought I was insane when I first explained it to him, but now it's set up he likes it too. It's quirky and fun, and looks rather sweet.
The second use of the oilcloth is more ordinary but I thought I'd share it anyway to show how something so cheap and easy can make such a difference.
I painted the legs of the table a couple of years ago and left the top pine. I've always like oilcloth fabric but wasn't sure if I'd like it on the table. Well I tried it, and I like what I see. It gives a splash of colour to the corner of the kitchen, and if I want to have the pine top showing again, it's easy enough to remove. I don't know how anyone else would cover a table top, but this seemed easiest to me. I flipped the table over, cut the fabric to size, then used drawing pins walloped in with a hammer to hold it taut and in place.
£3.80 worth of fabric went quite a long way!