Picnic canopy

This airy canvas canopy transforms your favorite backyard picnic spot into an intimate oasis, perfect for all sorts of summer retreating. Use it to set the stage for everything from coffee and the morning paper to candlelit dinners.

What you need:
9 yards (8.1 m) of plain white canvas, 42 inches (106.7 cm) wide
Scissors
Sewing machine
Heavy-weight thread in a polyester-cotton blend
Straight pins
Winch (1.6 cm) grommets
4 8-foot (240 cm) wooden poles
Handsaw
Drill and drill bit
Sandpaper
4 1/4-inch (6 mm) double-ended screws
4 feet (120 cm) of 1-x-1 pine board
Cotton rope

What you do:
1. Cut two 3-yard (2.7 m) panels of canvas. An easy way to do this is to simply snip the edge of the canvas and tear it to length.

2. Create one large panel by sewing the two canvas panels together lengthwise, wrong sides facing, t en use a French seam to hide the raw edges. To sew a French seam, trim the seam allowances and press them open. Fold the fabric at the seam, right sides facing (the raw edge will be hidden), and press again. Sew along the inside edge with a 5/8-inch (1.6 cm) seam allowance. Unfold the fabric and press again on the seam.

3. Tear or cut the remaining 3 yards (2-7 m) of fabric lengthwise into four strips, each 10 inches (25.4cm) wide. On two of the strips, using a 5/8inch (1.6 cm) seam allowance, hem both short ends and one long edge.

4. Measure the width of the large fabric panel. Add 1-1/2 inches (3.8 cm) for a seam allowance, then cut the two unhemmed strips to this length. Hem the ends and the raw edges on the long sides of these strips.

5. Pin the strips to the main canopy. Attach them with a French seam, as described in step 2.

6. Attach a grommet at each corner, following the instructions on the grommet packaging.

7. Use a handsaw to cut off 12 inches (30.5 cm) from the ends of two of the wooden poles. Cut four 3-inch (7.6 cm) pieces from the scrap to make finials.

8. Drill 1/4-inch (6 mm) holes into one end of each canopy pole and into one end of each finial. Smooth the rough edges with sandpaper. Screw one end of a double-ended screw into each of the canopy poles.

9. Cut the pine board into four 12-inch (30.5 cm) pieces to create stakes. Sand the ends, and drill a hole through each stake about 2 inches (5.1 cm) down from the top.

10. Cut four 15-inch (38.1 cm) lengths of cotton rope. Tie a small loop on the end of each rope.

11. Attach the poles to the canopy by threading the screws through the corner grommets, then adding the finials. Attach the 8-inch (20.3 cm) poles on one side and the 7-inch (17.8 cm) poles on the other.

12. Stand the canopy up on the poles. You might need an extra person to keep it balanced while you secure the tent stakes. Drive the tent stakes into the ground about 4 feet (120 cm) from the tent poles on all four corners. Loop one end of the cotton rope around a corner finial. Thread the other end through the hole in the tent stake. Pull tightly, wrap the rope around the stake a few times, and tie it. Repeat on the other three corners.

Excerpted from Summer Style by Paige Gilchrist. Copyright 2003 by Larks Books. Excerpted, with permission by Sterling Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.