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How to Make a Mini Tent Out of Fabric

With a homemade mini tent made from fabrics and a few other materials, your kids no longer have cause to yank the blankets from their beds and tear up the living room furniture. An afternoon's worth of playing with the sewing machine and power drill will provide your kids with countless hours of indoor and outdoor play. The finished mini tent is light weight, which makes the personal crawl and social space they've been craving easily transportable.

Things You'll Need

4 pieces of 1-by-2-inch-by-5-foot lumber
1 1/2-inch diameter dowel, 5 feet long
Power drill
1 1/2-inch keyhole bit
5 yards nylon-blend fabric
Sewing machine
Clothes iron
Box of straight pins
6 1/4 inch screw eyes
Roll of 1/4-inch thick rope
Sewing needles
Thread

Instructions

The A-Frame
- 1
  Attach the keyhole bit to the drill. Drill a hole through each lumber 2 inches from the top.
- 2
  Twist a screw eye into the side of each lumber 1/2 inch from the bottom. Twist a screw eye into the back of each rear lumber 2 feet from the top.
- 3
  Slide the dowel through the holes of the two front pieces. The dowel should stick out 1 inch. Spread the bottom ends 4 feet apart.
- 4
  Slide the dowel through the holes in the rear pieces so that it protrudes 1 inch. Spread the bottom ends 4 feet apart. Cut a 2-foot length of rope. Run it through one the top screw eyes and fasten it with knots.
The Tent Cover
- 5
  Cut the fabric into three 5-foot long sections. Sew them together at the 5-foot sides on the sewing machine.
- 6
  Fold over 1/2-inch seams at all edges. Iron the seams. Hold them in place with straight pins. Stitch them in place.
- 7
  Cut four 4-inch lengths of rope. Hand stitch each length to a corner of the tent covering.
- 8
  Drape the tent covering over the dowel. Knot the 4-inch rope lengths to the bottom screw eyes.

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