A pendant light made from individual parts isn't a craft project – it's the normal way lights have been built for a hundred years: a cable, a lamp holder, a ceiling rose. Here's how we do it in the workshop.
What you need
Fabric cable in the length you need plus 15 cm spare, a lamp holder with cable grip, a ceiling rose with cable grip and connector block, a bulb. Tools: small slotted screwdriver, wire strippers (or a sharp craft knife and a bit of patience), folding rule. Time: 20 minutes, 30 the first time.
Step 1: Set the length
Above a dining table, the lamp holder ideally hangs 60–70 cm above the tabletop. With a 2.60 m ceiling and a 75 cm table height, that's around 120 cm of visible cable. Add 15 cm that disappears into the ceiling rose. If you don't want to commit, order half a metre more – you can always shorten, never lengthen.
Step 2: Prepare the cable ends
At the lower end, cut back the fabric braiding by 4 cm. Underneath is the PVC sheath, which you shorten to 3 cm with wire strippers. Strip the individual cores by 8 mm. With 3-core cable: blue is N, brown is L, green-yellow is earth. Do the upper end the same way, only with the braiding cut back by 6 cm.
Step 3: Connect the lamp holder
Unscrew the strain relief of the lamp holder and feed the cable through from the top. Cores into the screw terminals: N and L to the two contacts, green-yellow to the earth symbol on metal lamp holders. Tighten the screws firmly and pull gently on the cable – nothing should move. Screw the strain relief back on and tighten it. From now on the weight hangs on the housing, not on the terminals.
Step 4: Ceiling rose
Push the cable through the strain relief of the ceiling rose, set it to the planned length, tighten the strain relief. The wires go into the connector block, which later connects to the ceiling wiring.
Step 5: Up to the ceiling
Switch off the circuit breaker. Check the wires are dead with a voltage tester. The connection to the ceiling wiring must only be made by a qualified electrician – that's not a figure of speech, it's a regulation and an insurance matter. Fix the ceiling rose with wall plugs and screws, close the cover, breaker back on.
The three most common mistakes
First: forgetting the strain relief or not tightening it – then the cable hangs on the terminals, and sooner or later they give way. Second: two-core cable on a metal lamp holder without protection class II. Metal needs earthing, so 3x0.75. Third: too heavy. A 2x0.75 fabric cable carries 2.25 kg, 3x0.75 around 3.4 kg – a metal shade 40 cm in diameter can exceed that. Then add a chain or steel wire.
Want to skip cutting to length? In the configurator you enter the length, we cut – and on request the light arrives fully wired and tested.