How to cover an umbrella with a spiral of ruffles

My coy little bunny peeks out from behind the ruffled covered umbrella to say, "hi!"
I decided I needed a shade umbrella to use in the summer and I thought I'd try dressing up a plain one with some ruffles.

The first step was to cut an old lace curtain into strips. This was super easy with my Simplicity Deluxe Rotary Cutter. I made them different widths starting at about 1.5-3.5 inches. I then just sewed down the center of each strip with a gather stitch (fancy term for the longest stitch length my machine will do).
I started to hot glue the widest ruffle strips at the outer edge of the umbrella and worked my way toward the center in a spiral pattern.
I sported my new set of Cathie Filian's fab new Hot Glue Gun Helpers which are so necessary when working with lace as the hot glue seeps through the holes in the lace!
I used a bit of dress makers chalk to sketch the placement of the ruffles.
I did make a tiny modification to one of my Hot Glue Gun Helpers as I have long fingernails so I cut a tiny slit in the top to let my finger nail pop out. I totally give these Hot Glue Gun Helpers a "thumbs up!"