3 Great Ways to Make a Parasol

Summer is here and the sun is out. A parasol is great way to protect delicate skin with a little style and flair! Here are some ideas for creating your perfect portable shade from Jacquard Products.

Parasol 1: Summertime Parasol

Materials:

• Jacquard Dye-Na-Flow Turquoise, Chartreuse
• Jacquard ExtravOrganza 7 sheets
• Jacquard Lumiere—Citrine, Pearlescent Turquoise
• needle
• Cotton umbrella
• 1" sponge brush
• embroidery floss or decorative thread
• tassels
• beads, sequins

Instructions:

1. Open the parasol and with a rag or sponge, wet the entire surface with water (a drop or two of Synthrapol in the water will help it soak in). Starting at the top, apply Chartreuse Dye-Na-Flow in a zig-zag pattern, the long point falling at about 11" down the ribs and the short point between the ribs at about 7". While the Chartreuse is still wet, apply Dye-Na-Flow Turquoise following the same pattern. Overlap it slightly on top of the Chartreuse and continue for 2 1/2 – 3". Let dry. Just a note on setting the paint: It’s not really necessary to set the parasols, since it is unlikely that they will ever be put in a washing machine or get wet. If you would like to set the Dye-Na-Flow, you can (CAREFULLY) use a hot air gun, making sure that you do not scorch (or set fire to) the fabric, or use our Airfix, which you add to the paint before it is applied.
    
2. When the parasol is completely dry, apply the last bands of Chartreuse—1" at the edge of the Turquoise and 1" at the bottom edge of the parasol. Notice how applying the paint to dry fabric creates a more defined line. Now it’s time for the embellishments! First of all, choose a theme. I’m quite fond of the song ‘Summertime’ and thought it was perfect for this parasol. You might be inspired by something else—just let your imagination go!
    
3. Print ExtravOrganza with your song lyrics and title or whatever you choose. There are eight sections on the parasol, each section has two diagonal lines in it, making a total of sixteen sections available for song lyrics, a poem or whatever. Divide your words appropriately to fit in the space available. Note: Always test on plain paper to check for font size and spacing before you print on the ExtravOrganza. I printed the title ‘Summertime’ three times, in a large font with space around the letters so that I could cut them into individual squares. Then I printed the song lyrics with the paper orientation to ‘landscape’ and with enough space between each line to allow for fringing.
    
4. Cut the ribbons and letter squares. Leave the paper backing on the ExtravOrganza for cutting, it makes it SO much easier! After cutting, peel off the paper backing and fringe all the edges. Create extra long fringes on the short edge of the ribbons, but make sure the un-fringed part of the ribbon is long enough to cover a section and overlap with the next ribbon at the points (you need fabric to stitch to—see photo for step 5a). Paint the fringe on the ribbons with Lumiere Citrine and paint the fringe on the letter squares with Lumiere Pearlescent Turquoise.
    
5. Use embroidery floss (or decorative thread) to sew the letter squares to the parasol. I applied beads in each corner, tying off the threads on the outside to create a bit of fluff.
    
6. The ExtravOrganza ribbons are applied on top of the Chartreuse stripe that borders the Turquoise, overlapped at each point, gathered a bit and secured with beads, then tied on the outside. Just a couple of tips here: I like to use a sewing needle rather than a beading needle because it’s easier to thread with the floss. However, sometimes the holes on the beads are quite small, so try to find some beads with slightly larger holes. I also use only three strands of floss.
    
7. Sew a tassel, some sequins and some beads at the bottom of the parasol where each rib ends.
    
8. Sew beads and sequins around the top point of the parasol.

Parasol 2: Sunshine Parasol

Materials:

• Cotton umbrella
• Jacquard Dye-Na-Flow—Sun Yellow, Ochre, Golden Yellow Scarlet
• 1/2 yard silk gauze
• 1" sponge brush
• needle and thread

Instructions:

1. Before you begin, spread a plastic drop cloth over your work area. This is a wet-on-wet application and can get quite drippy. Begin by opening the parasol and wetting it thoroughly using a rag or a sponge. Use a sponge brush to apply the Sun Yellow Dye-Na-Flow starting at the top of the parasol and covering about 2/3 of the way to the edge. Next, apply Ochre, overlapping two or three inches with the Sun Yellow and stopping a couple of inches from the edge of the parasol. Apply Golden Yellow to the edge, overlapping a bit with the Ochre. Finally, apply a light wash of Scarlet at the very edge. Don't worry about being precise here. Have some fun. Layer the colors until you are pleased with the results. Remember that the colors look darker when wet and the dry parasol may be much lighter than you think.
    
2. To embellish, tear the silk gauze into 1 1/2" - 2" strips. Use 1 or 2 strips per section of the parasol, depending on how full you want the ruffle. Color them by dipping into Sun Yellow (or accent color of your choice), squeezing out excess paint between two fingers as you draw the strip out. Let dry and set with a hot, dry iron or toss in the dryer on high heat (the silk gauze can take it and it gives it a nice texture. You will have to wipe out the dryer when you are done or you will have unexpected bits of color on your clothes!)
    
3. Run a long basting stitch, either by hand or machine, through the middle of each strip and gather to fit one section. Whip stitch to the bottom edge of the parasol.

Parasol 3: Purple Parasol

Materials:

• Cotton umbrella
• Jacquard Dye-Na-Flow—Violet, Turquoise, Golden Yellow, Ochre
• beads with large holes
• 1" sponge brush
• ribbons in coordinating colors 1/8" and 1/4" wide (4 yards each)
• needle and decorative thread
• 1/2 yard silk gauze

Instructions:

1.  The beauty of this parasol comes from the colors subtly blending into each other. Have fun with it! Experiment with the colors I used or choose your own and allow them to blend freely with each other--let yourself be surprised by new combinations.
    
2. Spread a plastic drop cloth over your work area before you begin.
    
3. There really isn’t much to this application, begin, as before, by opening and wetting the parasol thoroughly. Use a sponge brush to apply the colors vertically from the point of the umbrella to the bottom. You can make this application very streaky or very blended—it’s up to you. I used Violet on the ribs, Turquoise in each section, then Golden Yellow washed over the Turquoise twice in each section to create a nice green. Some areas came out brighter than I liked so I applied a wash of Ochre to tone things down a bit. Remember, the colors appear darker when wet—if you like, you can let the parasol dry to see what it looks like. If you want to add more color, just wet the whole thing with a squirt bottle and go for it. (There will come a point where the fabric will not be able to hold any more paint, so there IS a limit to how dark you can make it).
    
4. To embellish, tear the silk gauze into 1 1/2" strips. (Depending on the width of your fabric, you will need about 8 pieces or whatever gives you about 4 yds) Color them by dipping into Violet (or accent color of your choice), squeezing out excess paint between two fingers as you draw the strip out. Let dry and set with a hot, dry iron or toss in the dryer on high heat (the silk gauze can take it and it gives it a nice texture. You will have to wipe out the dryer when you are done or you will have unexpected bits of color on your clothes!)
    
5. Sew on all of your ribbons at the same time. Use decorative thread and a bead and attach the ribbons at each rib, tied on the outside of the parasol, with the threads cut about 1" from the knot for a little tassel effect. Make the next tie in the middle of each section, then tie again between the rib and the center tie.