Recovering an 1860s parasol

Last summer I purchased an 1860s parasol (I think it dates to the post-American Civil War period); the handle, which is beautifully carved wood is in beautiful condition, but the black silk cover was shredded. I was kind of nervous about being able to recreate the cover. After lots of mental planning, last weekend I started work on it. First, I removed the original silk cover, and picked apart one of the sections. The entire cover had been sewn by hand. Each section was made of two pieces, which were joined before all of the sections were stitched together. The join was covered with a narrow strip of tiny black glass beads. Here is one of the original sections and the paper pattern made from it.

Using the pattern, I recreated the cover in muslin to check the fit. Happily, it fit well! I didn't expect to get it right on the first try, but here it is.

This is the bottom of the handle. There are two little wooden balls that roll around inside the carving!