How to Make a Seasonal Patio Sun Shade

X-HT-300497

Adding shade to your patio or backyard is essential for enjoying the outdoors. The heat and burn of the sun can be unbearable, but not with a sun shade to keep you cool and comfortable. Patio shade applications can be anything from retractable awnings, patio umbrellas, wire-hung canopies and shade sails. And they all differ in cost and time spent planning and sewing the shade application. In this blog, we will show you how to install a seasonal, temporary sun shade for your patio using Carbiepoles™ Adjustable Carbon Fiber Poles.

Video Chapters:

Temporary vs. Permanent Sun Shade — 0:50 min.
Installing Eye Bolts & Carbiepole Base — 3:54 min.
Measuring for Sun Shade — 16:30 min.
Patterning Sun Shade — 18:29 min.
Creating Hems & Corner Patches — 28:22 min.
Sewing Hems, Corner Patches & D-Rings — 36:58 min.
Installing Sun Shade — 43:58 min.
Adding Carbie Adjustable Webbing Strap — 50:33 min.
Adding a Quick Pin Lock to Pole — 53:47 min.
Materials List — 59:32 min.

Materials List:

Carbiepoles™ Adjustable Carbon Fiber Pole #122552 (Black), #122554 (Silver), #122555 (White), #122601 (Blue), #122602 (Red)
Turned Lag Eye Bolt 5/16" x 3" (Stainless Steel) #120657
Carbiepoles™ Separating Mounting Base 38mm (Stainless Steel) #123712
Shade Cloth Fabric (We used Polytex^® Cappuccino 150" Shade Cloth #120470)
Seamstick 3/8" Basting Tape for Canvas (50 yds.) #129
Sailrite^® Woven Sew In Tags (2 pack) #121627
Thread Tex 90 Natural Polyester UV 4 oz. (1,350 yds.) #106386
Webbing Polyester 1" Black #100PLLWBK-FT
D‑Ring Without Bar #0 ‑ 1" #122757
Fixed Eye Snap Hook Stainless Steel 5/8" #122747
Leech Line Dacron^® 1/8" Black #212114
Carbie Adjustable Webbing Straps #122626 (Black) #122627 (White)
Quick Pin 1/4" x 1‑1/2" by Suncor^® #103784

Tools List:

Sailrite^® Edge Hotknife Package #122177 (Cordless) #103800 (Corded)
Sailrite^® Tempered Cutting Glass #121915
Scribe‑All^® Black Marking Pencil for Vinyl #121977
Sailrite^® Canvas Patterning Ruler #107040
Sailrite^® Ultrafeed^® LS Walking Foot Sewing Machine #311502
Siding Removal Tool, Drill and Bits, Screwdriver, 3/4” Spade Bit, Deck Screws, Tape Measures, 1/2” PVC Pipe, PVC 1/2” Coupler, Ladder, Ground Anchors

Unlike the labor-intensive time and expense required to install permanent corner posts for a shade sail, this seasonal shade structure is both easy and quick to install. What are Carbiepoles? Carbiepoles are handcrafted, telescoping carbon fiber poles that hold up shade cloth to provide much-needed shade for your backyard, boat and more. Carbiepoles can be retracted or extended from 68 inches to 92 inches so you can set you sun shade exactly where you want it.

In this how-to video, we're going to show you how to install the eye bolts and Carbiepole base to get our patio ready for the sun shade. Next, we measure, pattern and sew the sun shade. We're using Polytex^® Shade Cloth for our sun shade, but you can use any shade fabric for this DIY.

In order to properly tension the Carbiepoles and achieve our desired look, we're going to add support straps for the Carbiepoles. The Carbie Adjustable Webbing Straps DIY kit creates two adjustable straps that attach to the Carbiepoles to strengthen and reinforce the poles, allowing them to withstand greater tension and reduce flexing when the sun shade is subjected to varying wind speeds. We'll show you how to sew the webbing straps and how to install them.

We hope you enjoyed this how-to video, and as always, let us know if you have any questions about this or any DIY project you're working on. If you'd like to install a permanent shade sail in your yard, we have two detailed video tutorials. Be sure to check out "How to Make Shade Sails" (#300183XHT) for a three-sided shade structure, and "How to Make a 4-Sided Shade Sail" (#300410XHT) for a four-sided sail that attaches to your house. You can find all shade sail fabrics, hardware and supplies right here at Sailrite^®.