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DIY Play Tent

January 31, 2013 16 Comments
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I was feeling ambitious when I decided to sew my boys a Land of Nod inspired play tent for the holidays. Being so new to sewing, I didn’t quite realize how complicated the project would be. Well, I learned fast that this project would be a bit of a bear.

I ended up creating a house-like tent with a door, windows, and some primary coloring that looks like this:

Good news:

  • My kids love the tent and play in it any chance they get.  They don’t see the unfinished edges, wayward stitches, or the other things that make me cringe.
  • The tent cost me 15 dollars to make, way below the $169 price tag of the inspiration piece.

Bad news:

  • I really could use some sewing lessons.
  • This took me way too long to complete.
  • The real tent is probably priced right given the details of the structure.

How did I do it?  It is probably fairly easy for the expert seamstress, but it was not for me.

Supplies:

1 hula hoop

5 yards of fabric (I used gray cotton)

1 yard fabric (I used blue for sleeve and details)

Assorted fabric scraps for details

string

ceiling hook

sewing machine, thread, scissors

duct tape

Directions:

1. I bought a hula hoop at the dollar store.

2. I made a sleeve the length of the entire hula hoop by measuring the length of the outside of the hula hoop circle. I cut a piece of blue fabric that length using a width triple the width of the hoop itself (in my case, the hula hoop was about 1 inch wide, so I cut my fabric about 3 inches wide).  I folded the fabric lengthwise (like a hot dog) and sewed the open edges together.

3. I cut pieces of gray fabric the length of the blue fabric sleeve.  The fabric for the top of the tent was approximately 1.5 feet wide, while the bottom was about 6 feet wide, enough so that the tent would hit the floor.  I sewed these two pieces to the edge of the blue sleeve.

4. I next cut a piece of yellow fabric the same length as the blue sleeve and about 15 inches wide.  I sewed it to the top of the gray fabric that is above the blue sleeve.  After they were attached, I laid a piece of string along the unfinished edge, folded the fabric over the string, and sewed it together.

5. I added a few details like windows and stripes along the bigger piece of gray fabric.

6. I cut the hula hoop in half with an Xacto knife and threaded the hoop through the blue sleeve.  I then duck taped the two ends of the hula hoop back together and sewed the edges of the blue fabric together to completely cover the hoop.

7. I hand stitched the edges of the tent together above the blue sleeve so that it looked like a big cylinder.

8. I pulled the string tightly from both ends so that the top of the tent was now gathered and cone-shaped.

9. I tied a knot in the string and hung it from a hook in our ceiling.  Then, it was time to play!

 

 

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Check out these other ideas while you are here:

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  • DIY Christmas Gift Inspiration from Oriental TradingDIY Christmas Gift Inspiration from Oriental Trading
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Filed Under: DIY, toys Tagged With: DIY, Land of Nod, play tent, playroom

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lindsay says

    January 31, 2013 at 1:47 pm

    I think it looks awesome! Is it heavy or fairly light in weight to be hanging from the ceiling?

  2. Alissa says

    January 31, 2013 at 2:55 pm

    WHAT?!? You are *not* a beginner sewer… at least not by the looks of things! This looks amazing! I have drooled over these tents myself and didn’t even put it on the try-and-tackle list, because I thought it looked too ambitious for my skill level. But maybe I should try it after all? Or ask you to try and practice on a second one, maybe? 😉 Seriously, it looks great – and I bet the kids are having so much fun with it!

  3. Lauryn says

    January 31, 2013 at 3:28 pm

    What a FANTASTIC job Heather! I am SO making one when we redo G and H’s room. You rock and your boys are going to love this!

  4. Noelle (@singerinkitchen) says

    January 31, 2013 at 5:58 pm

    This is way cute!!! I cannot believe it was only 15 dollars

  5. diaperedknights says

    January 31, 2013 at 7:44 pm

    I bought the gray fabric on super sale at Joann’s and used scraps for the rest! Otherwise it would have been more, maybe $25?

  6. diaperedknights says

    January 31, 2013 at 7:45 pm

    THanks for the confidence boost…It literally was the second time I used my machine! It is rough up close, but they love it!

  7. diaperedknights says

    January 31, 2013 at 7:46 pm

    It is pretty light…the hoop seems to distribute most of the weight…:)

  8. Melinda@LookWhatMomFound...andDadtoo says

    January 31, 2013 at 10:22 pm

    that looks so cute and durable as long as they don’t swing on it 🙂

  9. Barb@A Life in Balance says

    February 1, 2013 at 5:09 am

    I love it! I never would have thought of doing a tube for the top. Great sewing job.

    I would love for you to link this up to Fabulously Frugal Thursday. It’s perfect.

  10. diaperedknights says

    February 1, 2013 at 7:41 am

    ….tell me about it!

  11. diaperedknights says

    February 1, 2013 at 8:44 am

    Thanks for suggesting Fabulously Frugal Thursday. I linked up!

  12. diaperedknights says

    February 1, 2013 at 9:14 am

    It was a learning experience! I bet G and H would love one though!

  13. Carrie @ My Favorite Finds says

    February 2, 2013 at 2:54 pm

    That is so adorable! And good for you for keeping up with it! Thanks for sharing at Pinworthy Projects.

  14. Jeannette says

    February 3, 2013 at 12:09 am

    Very cool project! I bet the boys love it. Kudos to you for tackling such a large project. I rarely work without a pattern, which is really limiting in terms of what’s available. If you’ve got a next project in mind and want some advice before you start, feel free to run it by me. I’ll help if I can!

  15. Hilary says

    December 5, 2014 at 9:56 am

    Wow! Great job! My girls would love me forever if I did this. I’ve been wanting a teepee forever but this is way more practical and budget friendly.
    Hilary recently posted…Friday Fresh Picks: 2014 Holiday Gift Picks for the Grown-Up Fancy GirlMy Profile

Trackbacks

  1. Adorable Summer Project: DIY Awesome Play Tent for Your Kids |DIYManiac says:
    May 26, 2014 at 7:23 pm

    […] Image via diaperedknights.com […]

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Heather Schugar is an educator, author, and mom-of-all-trades. She holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, and her work has has been featured in national outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, Real Simple magazine, and Men’s Fitness.

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