Hey guys! By now you may be noticing that a lot of my recent DIYs are inspired by tropical trends and natural materials. This one is no different! Wicker, bamboo and rattan woven light pendants are super popular right now. But it’s easy to pay a pretty penny for them! So for all my budget homemakers out there, you will love to know that you can make these easy DIY raffia pendant lights for under $10, plus some things you can find at home. I have to say, this DIY is on the cheap side even for me! No complaints!
This DIY will get your hands messy, but is simple and doesn’t require much effort or any exotic materials.
DIY Raffia Pendant Lights
You will need:
Natural Raffia – $3
Baking Paper / Wax Paper – find at home
Mod Podge OR PVA Glue – $6
Fold-back clips – find at home
Cardboard sheet or conical objects such as vases – find at home
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Vases and wide bottles make great moulds for this DIY. You don’t have to worry about harming a perfectly good vase, as we’ll just be using the shape as a guide. If you don’t have any conical objects to use, you can roll up a cardboard sheet to create your own cone shapes. I will say I used both options, and using a solid object is a little easier. You will also see that using cardboard gives a rougher effect, so if you like that look better, go with cardboard.
Firstly, cover your vase or cone object with baking paper. This is a little tricky, as not even sticky tape will stick to baking paper. Use fold-back clips to attach the baking paper to the bottom of the cone. I also used a mix of elastic bands and strips of raffia tied around the top sections. Find whatever works to hold the baking paper on! As my vase had a large flat base, I turned it upside down and added a cardboard cone at the top. This continued the shape up a little higher.
If you are using PVA glue, make a mix of 2:1 PVA glue to water. Take a strand of raffia and dip it in the glue, using your fingers to work the glue down the length of raffia. Starting from the top, wrap the strand around the cone model. Once you reach the end of a strand, tuck the end under the raffia you just wrapped or use the next strand to hold it in place.
At the top of your cone, make sure you leave a circle big enough for the lightbulb fixture (or electrical cord) to just pass through. Work your way down the cone, wrapping strand by strand. Do as many layers as you like, but the more layers you do, the stronger your pendant will be. I also like to leave a few gaps so the light can shine through.
Make sure that as you wrap the raffia around the cone, you wrap a little higher and lower with each strand. This will make sure that the raffia strands stick to each other and stay in place once finished.
After you have done enough wrapping and layering, leave it to dry overnight or in front of a fan.
When your pendant is dry, remove the cone model from underneath. You should then be able to carefully pry the baking paper from the raffia, without the raffia collapsing.
Thread your pendant onto your light fixture and this raffia pendant is ready to hang!
If you liked these DIY raffia pendant lights, check out my other raffia posts: Raffia Sunburst Mirror, Raffia Fringe Clutch or 3 Ways to DIY Raffia Hoop Earrings.
18 Comments. Leave new
Very good creative idea. If not Rafia fibre , will jute fibre also work and give golden feel of bursting light?
Hello pouvez vous me traduire le détail car je ne comprends pas tout merci beaucoup bye
Do you think this idea could use coconut husk rope instead of Rafia ?
You could definitely try it! 🙂
Love this – where to buy the light fittings and those fab long tube bulbs?
It probably depends where you are located (I’m in Australia), but give amazon a try! The bulb are called edison bulbs 🙂
great idea to execute.
If you use mod podge would you still mix with water?
Hey! It would depend on how thick the mod podge is… The water helps thin it out and makes it easier to work with, and so you don’t have to use as much glue. I would probably add some water to it! The raffia doesn’t need a ton of glue to stick but the mix just helps to get it all covered 🙂
16mayo2019., gracias., yo estoy haciéndo uno pero con rama seca con espinas.
Will the raffia not burn with the heat of the bulbs? Im thinking to wrap raffia around my current hanging light fixture that has glass around the bulb. Any insight would be appreciated.
Hey Nikki, that’s a great question. I haven’t had any issues with mine and I don’t think the bulb gets hot enough, but I’ve also made sure the raffia isn’t touching the bulb and there’s a couple of inches of space between. Wrapping the raffia around a glass fixture is a great idea, I guess it just depends if you are willing to use glue (more permanent) or just tie it on (more tedious). Would love to hear how you get on ?
I read on another site that if you use LED lights, they don’t emit much heat so are safer for these types of light shades – am planning on making these as they are really elegant and beautiful, and will definitely try the LEDs
Hey Veronique, LED lights are a great choice for this project because of their low heat output. Would love to see a photo if you do make them! 🙂
I just love these designs. These pictures are beautiful and classy. Thank you for sharing DIY and decorating ideas and inspiration.
Thanks for your comment Alina! It’s always nice to get feedback. I’m glad you like them ?
These look great! Fantastic idea!
Thanks Margaret ?