La Bricoleuse (
labricoleuse) wrote2007-05-22 08:05 am
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Project: Repairing a damaged paper parasol
Paper parasols are beautiful (and functional) accessories, but can be quite fragile. I carry one in Utah in the summer because i'm quite fair-skinned and Cedar City (where the Festival takes place) is a high altitude, making it much easier to burn in the sun. This past weekend, the wind and i had a disagreement and my parasol was an unfortunate casualty. Luckily, paper parasols are easily mended!

Poor parasol. Look at the huge rip!

Paper parasols usually have a string that runs from rib to rib around the circumference of the canopy. On mine, the thread had broken as well as the paper ripping, so i replaced the thread with several wraps of heavy buttonhole thread. The thread helps evenly distribute the tension across the canopy when the parasol is opened, so if you bust through the thread as i did, you need to replace it or else you will just keep having rips in the damaged panel.
The medium for this type of repair is any white glue that dries flexible and transparent. I used Elmers. Slather it first on the underside, all around the rip.

Use small torn pieces of tissue paper of an appropriate color to seal up the rips. Make sure all sides are torn, not cut, or the repair won't be as smooth and durable. Fold the paper over the thread at the edge, all the way across the length of the panel. Paint more of the glue along the edges of the rip on the outside of the canopy as well.

Can you spot the repair? [1]
[1] Hint: base of the branch, where the small orange flower is, and further up along the blue flower.

Poor parasol. Look at the huge rip!

Paper parasols usually have a string that runs from rib to rib around the circumference of the canopy. On mine, the thread had broken as well as the paper ripping, so i replaced the thread with several wraps of heavy buttonhole thread. The thread helps evenly distribute the tension across the canopy when the parasol is opened, so if you bust through the thread as i did, you need to replace it or else you will just keep having rips in the damaged panel.
The medium for this type of repair is any white glue that dries flexible and transparent. I used Elmers. Slather it first on the underside, all around the rip.

Use small torn pieces of tissue paper of an appropriate color to seal up the rips. Make sure all sides are torn, not cut, or the repair won't be as smooth and durable. Fold the paper over the thread at the edge, all the way across the length of the panel. Paint more of the glue along the edges of the rip on the outside of the canopy as well.

Can you spot the repair? [1]
[1] Hint: base of the branch, where the small orange flower is, and further up along the blue flower.
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Thank You
(Anonymous) 2008-07-08 06:51 pm (UTC)(link)Thank You
(Anonymous) 2009-09-25 04:05 pm (UTC)(link)