Lovely Marga. Many years ago (nearly 30 I reckon) I recovered our garden brolly. I don't think it was as big as yours but it was 8 sections and I bias bound the edges in a complementary colour. Then made seat cushions, back as well as seats, for our 6 patio chairs. Like you, I don't like to throw out things that don't rot down into landfill. It never occurred to me not to recover it. I would have bought the fabric as remnants, so cheap.