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       Measure across the top of the canopy, both the length and the width. Cut a piece of heavy cardboard to fit the top of the canopy brace work exactly. Cut both top and bottom pieces of your canvas fabric to cover this long narrow piece of cardboard. You can either sew or hot glue this canvas to the cardboard. Trim and tuck under all the edges so that this piece looks clean and professional. My canopy top measured 23 1/2 inches by 5 1/2 inches.

       Now you will need to make the ruffle to attach to the covered fabric cardboard. This may be sewn or attached with hot glue after it has been cut, hemmed and gathered. Measure from the top of your canopy brace downward when determining how long you would prefer your canopy's ruffle to drape. I chose to make a ruffle twelve inches from top to bottom and approximately six feet long. (The included seam allowance)

       The length of the fabric must be gathered in order to make the ruffle. You don't need much extra fabric in order to sew a neat ruffle. The circumference around my canopy top at it's widest point measured 67 inches. This is because the braces were built with angles extending out from the sides of the canopy.  

       The original fabric awning (if there was one) probably looked something like a trapezoid shape. However I chose to sew a ruffled, fabric canopy to compensate for this shape. By adding an additional six inches of fabric to the length of my ruffle I was able to ensure the fabric would cover the widest part of this brace work neatly.
       Six inches may not sound like much, but it is plenty of ruffle when using a canvas fabric. Canvas is heavier than cotton and it must be used sparingly in order to make it lay neatly around the edges of a piece of furniture. 

       Now if you wanted to cover the canopy with a light weight cotton, you could add more than six inches to your ruffle and it would look nice. However, I would not extend the length of a cotton version ruffle more than twelve inches in addition to the exact circumference of my stall's braces.

How to use heat-n-bond ultrahold tape for

 finishing fabric edges without sewing.

       Before attaching the ruffle to the edge of your covered canopy top, you will need to sew a hem around both the top and bottom of the ruffle. You may use a kind of sewing tape that may be applied with a hot iron if you should choose to avoid any sewing here. I simple ran my fabric through the sewing machine and then ironed the hems flat before gathering the edges with a wide straight stitch across the top edge of my ruffle. Make sure to knot one end of that strong thread so that you can pull the end piece of it to create a gathered ruffle.

       Now pin the ruffle into place around the edge of your canopy cardboard. Spread this evenly with slightly more ruffle around each end of the canopy where the braces form the extended top. It is easiest to sew this or hot glue this into place while working directly onto the wooden, canopy brackets. Be careful not to attach the ruffle directly to the braces, only attach the ruffle to the cardboard top! This is not a problem if you are sewing, but glue may cause a bit of trouble if your not careful about how liberally you apply it. Press the fabric canopy using spray starch. Trim off any stray threads.

• DIY Market Stand Tutorial Part I and Part II

Above you can see the finished table and side chairs.

       It seems as though I have been looking for the right table and chairs to compliment some antique dining room furnishings in our playroom forever. I wanted something simple but elegant. The legs of the table needed to be at each corner underneath. These should be turned, and the top needed to be generous, so that little ones could set up the table for tea time. I have seen many tables and chairs over the years come through resale but none of them were quite right. They were usually too small, too juvenile, too shabby, too country... well, you get the jest of it. But, at last, I spied the perfect table and it wasn't in a shop, folks. I found it while walking through our neighborhood. The perfect table was abandoned by the trash heap of a neighbor with a sign taped to it saying, "Free." 

       Oh! How I love that four letter word, best of all! It was free! The most important word in my vocabulary. I turned the small table this way and that, and saw that some old carpenter had built it sturdy and heavier than he ought. It had spindle legs and appeared to be made of solid pine. I was so over-joyed; I decided to carry it home before someone else discovered the gem. Of course, in reality, few would covet it. It was the kind of table that only an old woman with memories of a forgotten, romantic childhood would value.
       And at least half of my childhood was romantic indeed. This half being managed by a couple of elderly grandparents who begged my parents to leave me with them whenever they had too little time or help, which wasn't often enough. These were the grandparents I played hooky for and longed to be near to - even if I had to fain illness. (That means lie, people.)