Make a sail-style awning :: Garden makes

Sunshade garden awning to make, designed by Sarah Moore - Sewing for your home - Craft - allaboutyou.com

Protect yourself from unpredictable weather with a canopy cover that can be hung from hooks or between trees. It rolls up easily, so is perfect for camping trips.

You will need

● wide length of ticking or canvas material (the one shown measures 2.1m x 4m)
● pins, sewing machine and thread
● tape measure, tailor’s chalk, scissors
● iron
● fabric trimmings to reinforce the corners
● heavy-duty eyelet set and hammer

To hang

● herringbone tape or strong cord
● thick bamboo, hooks and guy rope
● tent pegs or heavy rocks, to anchor

To make

1 Fold the ticking or canvas in half, right sides facing, to form a square-ish piece. Pin either side of the material and sew along the sides; remove the pins as you go.

2 Lay the fabric out on a flat surface, folded edge away from you, and use the tape and chalk to draw on a V-shape from the top corners down. Cut along the diagonal lines on the top layer of material only. When you open up all three flaps of fabric, you will have a large triangle.

3 Fold over the raw edges twice to create a double hem of about 1cm along all three sides. Press, pin and stitch it in place. Be sure to remove the pins as you go.

4 Reinforce the corners by sewing on a small hemmed triangle of contrasting fabric to each corner. This looks pretty and adds strength to the eyelet section.

5 Using the eyelet set, first cut a small circle from the fabric and then punch eyelets into the corners of the sail.

6 You now have a sail ready to suspend: you could feed a length of tape or cord through the eyelets to string it from branches of trees or attach hooks to woodwork, then use a pole and guy ropes to fix it in place. Alternatively, make a beach canopy by placing one eyelet over the end of a bamboo pole and anchor in two places with tent pegs or rocks.

Tip: You can source extra-wide ticking material from specialist suppliers such as www.the-millshop-online.co.uk