How to Make a Fabric Canopy for a Candy Cart

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Things You'll Need

  • 4 buckets with lids (from hardware stores or bulk coffee cans), minimum 4-inch diameter

  • 4 pine poles, ridged curtain rods or steel poles, 4 feet to 6 feet tall

  • Saw

  • Quick-set concrete mix with instructions

  • Approximately 3 buckets of water

  • Stirring stick

  • Work gloves

  • Spray paint

  • 4 attractive cup hooks (cartoon character, burnished steel/designer hooks)

  • Duck or tarp twice the canopy area + additional 3 inches on all sides

  • 4 yards of fabric for buckets

  • Grommet kit for thick fabrics (grommet tools included)

  • Scissors

  • Craft knife

  • Pencil

  • Measuring tape

  • Sewing machine

  • Thread

Canopies for a candy stand beckon customers.

Candy carts bring out the child in everyone. Fabric canopies are the big come-on from afar, enhance candy choices up close and provide product protection. This fabric canopy takes only half a day to make, collapses easily for quick storage and transport and can be changed to suit any venue or occasion: corporate events using company colors; stadiums, movie theaters and theme parks with bold, colored stripes; private parties with specified theme colors. Duck and tarp are the best fabric choices, but a child's play candy cart can use any bed sheet with a fun design of his/her choice.

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Base Posts

Step 1

Measure and saw off the canopy height for your posts. If a slant is desired, saw off your back posts 6 inches to 12 inches taller than your front posts.

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Step 2

Turn each bucket upside-down. Trace the post's end onto the center of each bucket bottom.

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Step 3

Follow instructions to mix quick-set concrete with water. Fill each bucket until almost full. Cover, flip over and tamp down to settle concrete.

Step 4

Quickly cut out the marked bottoms from each bucket with a craft knife. Work fast to insert each post in a bucket; straighten poles and let dry for 30 minutes or so. Spray paint all poles and buckets.

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Fabric Canopy

Step 1

Duck or tarp are the best canopy materials.

Determine your canopy area: measure the length and width of the candy cart. Add 3 inches on all sides for the flaps and grommets. Double the measurements if you want the design on the roof and ceiling of your canopy.

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Step 2

Fold fabric in half and mark the actual canopy area on the center of your fabric; a drawn rectangle should emerge. Stitch the canopy area. Hem on all sides with ¼ inch margin.

Step 3

Mark 1/2-inch outward on all four corners of the canopy area for the grommets. Slit grommet marks 1/2 inch long and insert a grommet base through each slit. Follow the kit's instructions to nail down each grommet for all four corners.

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Assembly

Step 1

Test base posts for dryness. Screw in one cup hook on top of each post. Cover buckets with matching canopy fabric.

Step 2

Position each post on each corner of the candy cart.

Step 3

Hook your fabric canopy onto the posts.

Tip

Use solid colored gift wrap paper instead of fabric. Position the poles by the perimeter of your candy cart. Use 6-foot poles for these.

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