How To Make A Chandelier

In order to make a chandelier out of threads with your own hands you’ll need the following materials:

• A balloon (if you plan to make a very big chandelier, you may even use an inflatable rubber balls);
• A big skein of cotton threads (the bigger the size of the balloon is, the thicker thread you’ll need);
• Vaseline;
• A special glue for decoupage. This glue won’t turn yellow in the course of the time;
• Cornstarch (instead of it you may use PVA adhesive);
• A big piece of an oilcloth or a polyethylene to cover the floor with.

Now let’s get to a small, step-by-step masterclass “How to make a chandelier out of threads”.

1. We need to inflate the balloon. Try not to inflate the balloon too much. Otherwise, it can burst once the threads are put on it. Choose as bright colour as possible. The layers of the threads and their location should be easily seen.

2. Using a felt-tip pen, make a mark on the place where a hole for inserting a lightbulb will be. The easiest way to draw a perfectly even circle is to outline something round. For example, a bowl or a cap.

3. Now we need to cover the floor with polyethylene and hang the balloon.

4. We need to thoroughly cover the balloon with vaseline or something like that. This way it will be easy for us to take the balloon out of the frozen frame.

5. Now we need to make a glue mixture. We mix glue for decoupage with water in approximately equal proportions. Then, we add cornstarch in order to get the same consistency the glue had, before it was diluted. According to our experience, all these ingredients can be replaced by a PVA adhesive and then we cover the frozen frame with acrylic mat lacquer.

6. The process of making a chandelier out of threads and with the use of glue is slow. That’s why you’d better have somebody who will help you. One of you will hold the bucket and put the thread through the glue mixture. The other should wrap it around the balloon at once.

7. It will be more convenient if you wrap the first skein of threads horizontally and the other one vertically. After that, you may do it as you wish. Try not to make any holes or clearances while wrapping the thread around. The thread should maximally cover the area of the balloon. At the same time, the coverage should be even.

8. Having wrapped all the threads around the balloon, we leave it to dry for 24 hours. The construction being supported, we pin the balloon. The construction really needs to be supported, this way it won’t break apart.

9. Now we need to fasten the decoration of the chandelier for a full due. We also do it by ourselves. We use a special spray glue and thoroughly cover with it our balloon out of threads.

10. While the glue is drying, we clear the place where we will set our chandelier. We take off the old chandelier and fasten a foam plastic circle to the ceiling.

11. We assemble the construction for our balloon chandelier. The construction includes a lightbulb and a special bowl. If you have an old globe or something like that left, you may use it.

12. With the help of the globe, we fixate the wire. Before doing that, we need to get it through the layers of threads. We also put a special decorating bowl on it. It’s not advisable to leave the lightbulb without a decorating bowl. You’d better take care of it beforehand and have a small globe thoroughly wrapped with an insulation tape.

13. Then, we fixate the chandelier and check whether it works properly.

This is the way a chandelier out of threads done with your own hands looks in the interior. Seems to be very unusual and eye-striking.