DIY Light Diffuser

Diffuser in front of a bright east window

I had been browsing light diffusers on Amazon. I didn't really want to risk buying a cheap one, but nor did I want to invest in an expensive one. The sizes available didn't really seem to work for what I was looking for, and most needed special stands. Then it occurred to me that the material in the diffusers reminded me very much of white rip-stop nylon. And my DIY Light Diffuser was born! 

It was so easy and worked so well, I thought you might like it, too. It took less than an hour to put together, and cost me about $2.00 to make. 

DIY Light Diffuser

You will need:

1 white foam board (20" X 30")
1/2 yard of white rip-stop nylon
white duct tape 
exacto knife, scissors, ruler

To do:

1. Measure a 4" border all the way around the outer edges of your foam board and, using an exacto knife, cut out the resulting 12" X 22" rectangle. Put something under your foam board to protect the surface underneath. I used my rotary cutting mat.

2. Using the cut out rectangle as a pattern, cut 1 or 2 pieces (see notes below for your preference) of the rip stop nylon, leaving 2 to 3 inches of extra fabric on each side.

3. Smooth the fabric evenly over the foam board and tape all sides with duct tape. Optional: I took the second piece of fabric and taped it across the top ONLY. On very sunny days, I can fold it down and have a double layer of diffusion, or clip it back up out of the way when not needed! (Rip-stop nylon does not fray, so no worries there). 

Notes:

• I used a 4" border of foam board to make sure the resulting frame was sturdy and wouldn't twist or flop around. It is very sturdy. You could probably get away with a narrower frame and more nylon (especially if you used a smaller board), but I have not tried it. 

• You can use one layer of fabric, or add the second layer as seen in step 3. It's really easy to add the second layer, and I like having the option.

• When taping the fabric onto the foam board in step 2, I put the cut out rectangle back into place (temporarily) to keep the fabric from sagging down into the opening while I taped it. That worked well to keep the fabric smooth. I had to kind of work a little bit to get the piece back out again, but it eventually came out. 

• To keep it portable, I just prop it up wherever I need it. Not very high tech, but it works. One could probably fashion some removable feet out of the cut out middle portion of the board, but I haven't gotten that far yet. :)

• This was a very inexpensive project. The rip-stop nylon was $7.98/yard at Joann's, and I had a coupon for 50% off. You use 1/2 yard, so the cost of the fabric was $2.00. I had the foam board on hand, but even if you didn't, they are $1.99 at Hobby Lobby, and they always have a 40% coupon, so you could easily get a foam board there for about $1.20. I had all the other supplies on hand, too. So this project cost me about $2.00. 

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