Super excited today to show you how I made this fun kids play teepee!
I know, you are reading right now and thinking, that’s it DNH Mom, you’ve jumped of the deep end. Well, you’ll be happy to know that it’s actually really easy and inexpensive to make. As with most my crafts, I see something along my travels, read it and then adapt it what works for us. I found a great tutorial over at Sew, Mama, Sew and then changed it up because of two thing… 1.) to NOT sew (no time for that). 2.) To save a few extra $$. I like to keep my crafts less than $20 and sometimes changing it up helps to do that.
Do not miss our 15+ CRAFTS AND ACTIVITIES FOR BORED KIDS for other fun crafts like this one!
Supplies
- 3 – 3/4 inch x 10 ft pvc pipe (or 6 – 5 ft are ideal so if you can cut them at hardware store, go for it!)
- 1- 9ft x 6 ft Painter Canvas (You may want to trim down to 8×5 for a better fit)
- 8 – Eyelet Gromets
- Twine
- Craft Paint
- Scissors
- Hammer
- Saw (only if you didn’t cut the 10ft pvc pipe at hardware store)
- Drill
Directions
First step is to lay out the canvas. Fold the fabric in half along the long side. So for a piece of fabric that is 8ft x 5ft, it should be 4ft by 5ft after folding. The next fold is diagonal. You will then cut a small piece off one point in the fabric and then round out the bottom have of the other side so that it ends up looking something like this
Sew, Mama, Sew has an awesome diagram for those I’ve fully confused, which I hope isn’t the case.
The hard part is done!
Next step, cut the pvc pipe if it isn’t already cut.
Once its cut, its time to drill a hole in each about 3-4 inches from the end. The hole has to be big enough for you to thread your twine through.
Next, its time to set up up your teepee frame and tie the tops together with the twine. Place the 6 legs evenly apart and giving room for the “front door”. I strung the twine through each of the holes and then around the outside about 8-10 times.
Then its time to paint!!! WOOH! The kids favorite part! Let them go wild! We did both the inside and outside to make it that more exciting.
Once the paint has dried, its time to for the grommets (eyelets). I measured eyeballed four grommets on each side about 2 inches apart starting at the top. If you feel more comfortable using a grommet kit, go for it, but I used scissors to poke a hole through the canvas at each of the 8 dots I measured eyeballed. You put the large side of the grommet through the front and the washer on the back and then hammer them together.
Drap the fabric over and using the excess twine tie up the top of the fabric through the grommets. This is where we decided we were finished. You can sew plastic rings to the inside to keep the legs from moving. Knowing my kids and how often we are inside then outside, I decided to forgo that step. Plus these cute kids were begging to take it for a spin, there you have it.
Cost:
- PVC Pipe – $5
- Painters Canvas – $10
- Grommets – $3
- Total: $18
We have two extremely happy (cute) kids that absolutely love their teepee and have asked multiple times if they can sleep in it!
