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Last month I organized, hosted, and taught a Victorian Valentine Weekend at The Historic Brookstown Inn in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Initially the weekend was to be a trial for an East Coast version of Costume College which is held in July in Woodland Hills, California and hosted by Costumer's Guild West. While many local costumers expressed interest and the time and travel expense to attend across the country was eliminated, local attendance was light. Attendance from out of state was, however, extraordinary!
In addition to our social events, each of the three days had a minimum three-hour class with a themed break. Friday was Chapeaus and Chocolates, Saturday was Fans and Fresh Fruit, and Sunday's class was Parasols and Petit Fours. The Historic Brookstown Inn was so accommodating and the breaks as well as the lunches, dinner, and Celebration Tea were delicious and memorable!
Our Parasols and Petit Fours class Sunday morning was rushed as we had taken more time to create our Garden Hats,
our Victorian/Edwardian Fans,
and to laugh and share our time together in our themed breaks. What an incredibly fun and learning experience it was!
Although this blog post will not be nearly as much as fun as our Sunday morning together during the Victorian Valentine Weekend, and you will have to supply your own Petit Fours, here is some of the information I shared in that class.
Parasol - from Latin parare meaning 'to shield, and sol meaning 'sun'. If the covering is waterproof, it becomes an unbrella. There is nothing so fabulous as a costumer strolling in full Victorian splendor with a coordinating parasol! And nothing so useful on a hot sunny day!
I began my parasol journey with very inexpensive modern nylon parasols and embellished and eventually recovered and embellished. This is a link to one of my early projects and has a lot of useful information regarding locating useful modern parasols, painting, recovering, and embellishing:
The next link will take you to my Facebook Album of parasols I have been inspired by, parasols I have embellished and/or recovered, and photos of extant parasols I have in my collection.
For those who prefer an available pattern, I brought and shared my personal copy of a parasol recovering pattern by Truly Victorian:
I also brought and showed attendees a parasol kit which I purchased from Vena Cava Design on Etsy and their own website which allows you to customize your handle.
And my absolutely favorite and highly recommended book, Sticks in Petticoats by Rachel E. Pollock.
Available in print-on-demand from Lulu.com and available in color, black and white, and a pdf version.
The method for recovering antique parasols is completely covered in Rachel's book. While she provides options, I use what I feel is the simplest method - String Perimeter. I had read several internet tutorials of this method and know that it has been taught at costume conventions. Even if you can salvage one parasol panel from an antique parasol to use as a pattern, the stress that the fabric has been under during use has probably badly disfigured the grain and it is best to start fresh.
Be extremely careful with an uncovered parasol and wear eye protection. In the String Perimeter method having a partner hold the parasol is very helpful. With the parasol fully open tie a very strong thread (I use millinery thread) to one eye of one rib and knot.
Thread the thread through all other rib eyes until you reach the beginning. In her book Rachel Pollock provides several ending knots for holding your thread firm at the end of the circle. I choose to have my helper hold the circle closed while I spread the ribs out evenly along the thread circle. You can pull the thread tighter or let it be looser for different looks. Measure the distance between each rib and adjust so that your panels are equal.
Now you are ready to make a pattern for one panel. Measure a piece of aluminum foil longer than the distance from the top of the parasol to the thread and lay the foil over two ribs covering one "panel" or "pie slice". When you rub the foil on the ribs you will create a "pattern" on your foil.
Transfer that pattern to paper and use it to cut your mock-up panels following the instructions in my 'Modern Parasol Recovering' instructions linked above. It may take several mock-ups to get the shape you like.
This is a very light overview to parasols but hopefully enough to get you excited and started on your own journey. Parasols are such a beautiful and practical accessory to both historical costume as well as beautiful modern use for protecting yourself from the sun. Enjoy!
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