Fixing a paper umbrella

Perhaps some of you have read the post when I bought two Asian style wooden parasols for 1€. One made from silk and the other one from paper. Because it was windy that day, the paper one went flying (before I bought it) and it got holes in it (which is why I got it for free!). This week I finally tackeled those holes!

disclaimer: If you have an antique parasol, it's better to get it fixed by a professional.

This is the parasol I'm talking about!
I did a bit of research online and I think I found a good method!


One of the bigger holes. But there are also a lot of smaller cracks and little tears.

This is how some were fixed. Not really good...

Tools I used!

- washi: japanese rice paper. I also read that someone just used regular paper towels to fix his/her parasol.
- a brush
- tweezers or a pair of chopsticks if you're skilled with them
- Fabric glue, white craft glue, paper glue
- scissors

The method I used:
Cut out a piece of washi which is 1-2 cm bigger than your tear.
It's easier to apply glue to your parasol first. Then add your washi piece and add some more glue.
This is a fixed area.

To handle bigger holes, you use the same method.
But in my case, the paper was folded to the outside and I wasn't able to pull it back to close the hole. So I grab a paper towel and some water and made the paper wet. This way I could get the piece to close the hole. After it dried, I went ahead and applied glue and the pieces of washi.
If you have a bigger hole, you can use more than 1 piece.

Before

 After

And these are the fixed holes when the glue dried


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