Crochet Shade Umbrella Pattern

 How To Crochet A Shade Umbrella

I was captivated by these cheap umbrellas over at Walmart and thought to myself, "How can I make this ordinary umbrella into being extraordinary?"   Crochet a Shade Umbrella - It occurred to me that I need to look at some doilies that match the number of sides of the umbrella. This one has 8 prongs going around so I need to look for a doily that has 8 definite sides to keep the umbrella looking balanced.

If you click Read More, I will show you the steps I did to create a Shade Umbrella. It's not meant to protect you from the rain and is an artistic approach to an umbrella that is unique and a conversational piece.

Find an Umbrella Frame

• Find an umbrella that you are okay with removing the cover from the frame. I suggest Walmart. Check the purse and accessory section of your local Walmart. These little umbrellas are about $5.00 and are under the label of Rainstoppers.

Remove the Cover from the Frame

• Removing the cover is up to you. You may have a cover colour that you can work with. Knowing what colours I wanted, the original cover wasn't going to work colour wise or to what I envisioned for the final look. I might have left it on if the covering with a sheer white or clear.
• Using an Exacto blade. Carefully cut the strings that tie the umbrella cover to the holes in the plastic area at the end of the wires. Do not cut off the plastic sections and try your best not to scuff up the plastic as it will be visible.
• The cover is also attached halfway to the centre point. Very carefully cut those strings free of the frame.
• Finally, cut the cover free of the tip. The plastic is glued heavily and will not pop off to slide off the cover.

Cut the strings that are holding the cover in position. Then cut the strings in the middle of the wire to remove the cover. Do this for all prongs.

Then carefully cut the cover from the top of the umbrella. Then remove the cover completely. You will notice the cover doesn't sit flat as the wedges are designed to have a bend when the umbrella is opened.

Crochet a New Cover

I used this Pineapple Symphony Pattern to create the cover for my umbrella.

Here are a few tips:

• I chose this pattern because it had 8 sides that matched the number of prongs on my umbrella. If your umbrella has more or less, you have to use a doily or pattern that has a matching number of sides.
• Choose a pattern that has a minimum of 16 or higher Double Crochets around the centre ring so you can wrap comfortably around the tip of the umbrella. You will use a Magic Circle instead so you can pull it tight around the tip of the umbrella when you are ready to mount.
• When you increase a crochet hook and thickness of yarn, you automatically will increase the size of the doily. In my case, I increased the crochet hook to Size H, 5.0 MM. I used Red Heart Boutique Treasure Yarn as my yarn choice. This automatically dramatically increased the size of the project.
• For the record, you cannot see the pineapple in my project because I stopped at Round 21 as I got to the size I needed before finishing it off. Which brings me to my point, if you chose a doily, you may not be able to complete the entire project before getting to the size you need.
• When choosing my pattern, if you see where the metal prongs are. I wanted to pattern that could comfortably sit over the prongs and somewhat hide them. If you notice between 8 of the sections, there is a 'shell' design in the pattern that does a terrific job of this.

How Do You Know When You Are Done the Crochet Cover?

• The crochet umbrella must be able to pull snug all the way around.
• If you are too loose, the umbrella will appear sloppy and the material will sag between the prongs.
• This is a bit of trial and error to find that ring sizing.

How to Mount on The New Cover

• Slide the centre hole over the top of the umbrella centre point. Using the magic circle string, pull the centre tight around the top of the umbrella.
• Stretch the tips of the material one by one to the points of each prong. Begin sewing the tips of the cover to the holes that are in the plastic at the end of each prong.
• I didn't fasten on the cover at the halfway point like the original cover. I didn't think it was necessary.

 

 

Ready to Use

 

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