I attended the Fox Valley Sewing & Quilting Expo over the weekend and took a class to learn how to cover an umbrella. The class was taught by Judy Gauthier of Bungalow Quilts and Yarn out of Ripon, WI and the class was fantastic. Judy was wonderful and the class was filled with students from advanced beginner to very experienced but we were all able to finish our umbrellas that day.

The steps were pretty simple: Cut out 8 panels from a pattern, sew a rectangle for the tie and attach. (I still need to add a button and button hole or add some velcro.) It also vaguely reminds me of the Star Fleet symbol which makes me want to make a Trek themed umbrella!

Sew a rolled hem on the bottom of each panel. I think this part took the longest for most people. Some people had a rolled hem foot for their machine but most of us just used out hands to finger press things under.  There are many different ways to do a rolled hem including methods that require you to sew three times to get it done but I thought I did a pretty good job for just hand manipulation.

Sewed the panels together.

Attached to the umbrella and sewed in the rib tips after placing them for correct tautness.

And done! Well, about 95% done. I need to glue  a piece to the top and waterproof the fabric. 

I’m sort of loath to buy clothes for work. In fact, I’m sort of in the Mark Zuckerberg/Dean Kamen camp where I’d like to wear the same thing to work every day without any social judgment. For Zuckerberg, it’s jeans and a black t-shirt and for Kamen it’s jeans and a jean button-down shirt. ‘Course, I’m not Zuckerberg or Kamen but what I can get away with is basically a uniform I wear every day: jeans, top, and cardigan. To that end, I’ve been meaning to make some easy tops to wear and settled on the Scout Tee by grainline. On day 16, I cut out the pattern on a few different cotton fabrics for me to mass sew them later – can’t wait!