Parasol Handout

Well, I'm sitting here hitting refresh on my friends' list hoping that something new and exciting will distract me for a few moments... so I figured I'm probably not the only one having this issue right now and I should share something of my own. ;)

For those that would like to journey down the long and winding path I took over the last year or two researching the history and construction of parasols, I finally got around to putting my thoughts together into an article along with a lot of my pictures. I taught a class on it at our last Kingdom Collegium, and am doing a hands on workshop this weekend for two of the three methods if anyone is in the Phoenix area and interested in making one.

I make no claims to be the be all end all on this topic, and it was really hard to research at times. A lot of fun, but not the easiest accessory to find! So if you have more information, or know that I got something wrong, please don't hesitate to give me a shout out. I tried to cover the history of parasols, construction techniques, and my own modern tweaks to make it more camping friendly. Like collapsing down into a carry-on suitcase. ;) I also included a rough cost guide at the bottom for the various methods so you know ahead of time how much it will set you back. Really it's not much; the cheapest one was about 11USD plus fabric, and the most expensive one was 20-25USD plus fabric. Since it only takes about a yard each of canopy and lining, I was able to use what I had in my stash for most of them.

http://www.screentanning.com/Parasol_Handout.pdf

Happy browsing.. it's a long and a little wordy (though if you've followed my blog for a while this should be no big surprise ;), but it also has lots of pictures. I promise I won't be offended if you just skim the pictures! LOL