Recovering Two Antique Parasols || A Historical Sewing Vlog

These two parasols have been sitting in my workspace waiting to be recovered for a little over a year. Finally, I got around to fixing them up. The first one is a cane ribbed 1840s parasol that gets a fresh light pink silk cover. It also had a little button on its previous cover which as used to close it and I put the button back on when I was done with the parasol. The second parasol is a black silk marquis parasol, with a fun little hidden marquis hinge. This one originally had a full lace canopy that was unfortunately in tatters by the time I got it. So instead, the parasol gets a lace edging until I can source an original canopy. I also added a fringe to replace one that probably got lost along the way. Both parasols needed to get done and out of my workspace so I am thrilled that they are complete!
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[@prettyk1020]

Hey Katelyn, thanks for this video! Did you do a rolled hem? I have several parasols I need to cover, but I have a problem where even if if the pattern piece looks like it should fit, it always slides down from the top, but if I can get it to stay at the top, then it's too short to attach to the tips. Does that make sense? I have the Truly Victorian parasol pattern and everyone says it's so easy, so I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong!

[@KatelynKearns]

For the pink one I did do a small hem but that is incorrect. Most parasols I have seen have either had a scalloped edge or were on the selvage-selvage was super common early on and then in the mid 19th century they switched over to scalloping. The pink one should have been on the selvage but I didn't have enough fabric for that unfortunately. Does your parasol have it's original cover? If so, I would use that as a pattern and not TV. It sounds like the TV pattern isn't the same size or shape as your parasol.

[@emilybrooks9219]

How did you get the top of the second parasol off? I have a parasol im trying to cover but the finial seems to be glued in place and im terrified of ruining it. And I don't want to leave it on because the cover never fits snug if it's left on (at least for me) Thanks!

[@KatelynKearns]

So there are two ways to do this. The first, which was recommended on a forum by Marta Vincent, the parasol queen, who is now sadly passed, said that she had soaked the finial and end of the parasol in warm water overnight to soften the glue. This works about 80% of the time in my experience. The goal is to get the join of the finial and parasol in the water but as little as the original cover as possible to avoid water staining it. The second method is what I do in the 20% of cases where the glue just won't budge even after soaking. It isn't ideal in my opinion because it involves cutting the threads of one seam on the original cover about 2" below the finial and cutting it to the finial. Then typically, you can pry the original cover off. To put on a new cover, sew up all the seams in the new cover, leaving one seam open 2" from the top. Put the cover on the frame and hand whip the 2" closed, tightening it under the finial. This does cause you to have to cut the original cover, which I try to avoid doing in most cases but if you're extremely careful to only cut the threads, the damage should be minimal. And it's only a big deal if you preserve the original cover for study purposes (which is what I do). I know a lot of people throw them out since they're typically shredded anyway. I hope this helps!

[@emilybrooks9219]

@KatelynKearns Marta did amazing work! I'll try soaking it, I had already cut the cover off (was able to salvage the lace with minimal loss) the silk itself was already splitting so real saving it. I appreciate your input!

[@emilybrooks9219]

Update: warm water soak worked! I was so nervous prying it off but it was successful. Had to soak the finial a few more times to get rid of the extra glue. That was some strong stuff. 😆

[@KatelynKearns]

@@emilybrooks9219 Awesome! I'm so glad it worked for you. Good luck on the recovery process! Marna Davis on KZbin as The Domestic Lady's Dressmaker has a whole series on drafting a custom pattern for a parasol cover if your cover is too far gone to use as a pattern.

[@emilybrooks9219]

​@@KatelynKearns luckily the fabric was in pretty decent shape for the age, just splitting when the parasol was fully opened. I spent the afternoon working on it, its basically complete now. Just need to tack down the original lace and add some final touches. I also bought the parasol cover pattern from Truly Victorian a while back so that's handy for people like me who have difficulty drafting patterns 😅