Second Parasol

I have almost finished the second parasol. If only I could find the 8th little knob to go on the end of the struts, I would be finished.
Fortunately, I was able to put it all together without needing that little bit.  I wasn't certain I would be able to as it holds the tension on the fabric and allows me to put the parasol together but the other 7 struts have done the job nicely.

I used very bright orange netting.  While researching symbols and their meaning, I came across quite a few to do with the sun and thought they would be suitable for a parasol - protection from the sun while enjoying being able to be in the sun! Maybe even some sun worshipping.

I used some novelty yarn for the top symbol. I did some thread drawing on synthetic organza for the leaves of the lotus flower. The actual lotus was thread drawn on some netting, cut out and then sewn onto the base.

I decided that, even though I am going for art rather than function, it would need something else. The fabric was so sheer that you could see the frame too clearly for my liking. Some of my research was about warding off the evil eye with mirrors, reflections and brightness.  Therefore, there is a layer of gold reflective fabric under the netting. I thought this more solid fabric would give some protection if the parasol is ever used for that purpose. The two layers are not connected except for the side seams and this gives some interesting movement.  I haven't decided what to do about the rim yet, I think it will just float around in the air.

Here it is, almost ready to be put on the frame - HOPING it will fit! (Me hoping, not it.)

I also sourced some real shisha mirrors, unlike the sequins on the other parasol, and sewed two onto each section.  They look like holes to me, maybe they will suck the evil spirits in rather than repelling them.

Another aspect of the symbolism is that there should be some asymmetry - I love that, no need to be exact.  There is lots of asymmetry in the parasol - very protective.

I sewed the circle inside the parasol once again, after I discovered that the whole thing just slides down the centre if you don't! Then the knobs fall off, very annoying.

I also sewed the struts to the seams in two places as they slipped sideways a bit more than I liked.  That has worked well too.

I put the spiral design onto a separate piece at the top that hides all the not quite matching seams.  It seemed to work well but when I put the parasol down it stood out sideways in a most unattractive manner.  So that got caught down in each section too.
Ta da! - The (almost) finished item (as soon as I find another knob to put on the end of the final strut).

Making the parasol

I have beavered away at my parasol. There has been a lot of unpicking but I have finally finished it.  It is my first attempt at a parasol and has taught me lots - if I ever decide to try again. I might decide that this is only a sample and make another one, I am keeping my options open.  But it would need to be a much quicker process if I do another.

I pulled apart a child's umbrella and have used the frame for my design.
I used polyester organza which is amazingly slippery!! I made my design using reverse appliqué.  I drew it on soluble fabric and pinned it to the four layers of fabric, which I pinned to the ironing board to keep the layers from moving too much as I cut through them.

I sewed the design and then cut back the layers once the soluble fabric had dissolved and it was dry.  

There are eight pieces which I sewed together only to find that they weren't all exactly the same shape. Close but not exact. Hmm, what to do about that? Oh well, sew them all up and see how it goes at the end. 

It has turned out ok but caused a bit of a problem where the pieces meet at the top as I had four layers and it was a bit bulky.  And, as I said, they are not all exactly the same shape. I was pleased to discover that it was really easy to sew the knobs on.

I sewed on them at the ends of the seams but found that the struts did not stay in place because the slippery fabric caused it all to slip down from the central hole, causing the tension to lessen.  I made a small circle, three layers for stability, and sewed it to the top, to stop the slippage.  The tautness of the fabric then held the knobs in place.

The circle worked ok but you could see the stitches, and the messy joins.

So I made another piece to sit over the top.  I decided to put in some shisha mirrors, inspired by my research for the assignment.  There are some interesting sites (here and here) telling you how to do this.  My sewing is not as perfect as on these examples but I don't mind, it suits the feel of my parasol. Also, I didn't sew the four layers of fabric together, I left them loose and slightly raggedy looking.
Then I slipped the top knob on and it is finished.

However, there was yet another problem because of the difference in the shapes - the struts did not all fit exactly along the seam lines.  As it was necessary to stitch the fabric around the strut (the original umbrella had this) I used this stitch to ease the fabric as close as possible to the strut.  It all works ok, I just hope it holds up to actual use.

Some doubters have meanly said it won't provide any protection from the sun!  I'm hoping that the double, triple and quadruple layers will.  It is just the single layer of yellow that may not be that effective.  So there should be some protection there.  Maybe I'll just try not to go out in the sun at all. And, anyway, it is a work of art, not an actual artefact.

Still making up my mind

As I have already said, I am trying to settle on an idea to develop for my machine embroidery assignment. I had thought of trying to do something with a fan, then that morphed into a parasol (only I know the logic of that thought process).
Then I thought I couldn't justify a parasol through the research I was doing.  But I really, in my heart of hearts, wanted to do a parasol.
I even got started on making a small bag, based on a Jacobean bag I got information about on the V&A website. (What a fabulous resource.)
I have played with ideas about making cuffs for gloves or mittens.
I just couldn't get settled on an idea.
Then, on a visit to Melbourne on Monday, I saw this at Australia on Collins.

I'm pretty sure I have seen this installation before but I still really like it.

How could I not work on parasols?? Seeing this made me think I was MEANT to ditch my other ideas and go back to what I want to do.  Isn't it funny how you see omens and signs that direct you where you want to go?

So I looked around some more and came across an image at the V&A site.  Now I have an historic piece of embroidery that I can use to develop an idea from.
Here's hoping I actually get started now!