Make Your Own A-Frame Tent

We love a-frame tents, so we invited Rubyellen to share her method for making your own. Are you excited? Here's how the magic happens-1. From the top of each moulding, measure and mark 6" down with your pencil. 2. With your drill and 3/4" spade bit, drill a hole at your mark. Try to center the hole on your moulding. These holes will be for the top of your A-frame tent. 3. From the opposite end of your moulding, measure and mark 1.5" down with your pencil. 4. With your drill and 3/4" spade bit, drill a hole at your mark. Try to center the hole on your moulding. These holes will be for the bottom of your A-frame tent. 

Making the cover: Since the cover is made using a vintage crocheted cloth, what you have readily available to use may be a different measurement. The key size to get your tent cover is about 44" - 51" in length and about 80" - 84" in width, so depending on the size of your crocheted cloth, your crocheted cloth to panel fabric proportion may vary from the one used. In fact, on our tent, the crocheted cover is slightly larger than the fabric panel by an inch or so on each side. If you have a crocheted cover large enough and don't need a fabric panel, an option would be to fold the bottom of your crocheted cover to create a panel in which to feed your dowel through. Be creative, there are a lot of fun possibilities to use for a tent cover!

(Hint: A twin sized sheet fits this tent frame almost perfectly!)1. Cut the fabric to the size needed. In our case, it was 14" x 53". For the 14" side, fold over 1/2" and press, and fold over 1/2" again and press. Pin in place. Repeat with the opposite side. Do this for both panels. Then, use a sewing machine to stitch the hem. With the 53" side, place the right sides together and stitch using a 1/2" seam. Repeat for second panel. Turn inside out and press. 2. Place the long side of crocheted cloth and fabric together with right sides together, pin in place, and stitch together using a 1/2" seam. Repeat with second panel for the opposite side. 3. Group dowels into pairs and line up the top holes. Push dowel through the holes of the top moulding (6" down from top). The hole should have a pretty tight grip and keep the dowel in place. Repeat with the dowels for the opposite end. Drape your tent cover on top. 4. Grab another dowel and push through the holes on the bottom of one side and feed through the bottom panel and connect the dowel to the opposite end. Repeat for second dowel on the opposite side. Open up the tent cover to desired width and height of opening. Grab a pillow, blanket, go underneath and enjoy!

TIPS: For a little extra detail and to keep the tent cover taut, I fed twine through some holes of the cover and tied it to the legs of the frame. This helps prevent the tent cover from sagging. Also, if you are using this on wood floors the legs may have a hard time staying up. I find that if you put your tent on top of a blanket it will help it from just falling flat.

Again, how you make this tent cover will vary depending on the size of the crocheted cover you find and decide to use. I just happen to come across a cover that was almost the exact size I needed, so I didn't have to really piece together too much. Nevertheless, it will look beautiful with lots of little crocheted pieces put together or even with just one large piece as a cover. Just remember, have fun making it and after you will have a special little hideaway to enjoy! 

Thanks so much, Ruby! We hope you guys have fun building your own tents. xo, elsie

Comments

[Rory]

That's so awesome! I would have loooved one of these when I was a kid :) Thanks for the tutorial! http://www.wearaboutsblog.com/

[Kelly]

The most adorable thing I've see all day! I'd love one of these to do all my photo-editing in, it looks so cosy!

Kelly
http://pixelbaby.net/

[Francine P.]

Why didn't I think of this! Love how easy and personal it is... I can't wait to try it with my 3yo soon! Thanks for sharing.

[Secret Garden]

W O W

[Cori]

Aw! this is just too cute.

[ttea]

I'm not really sure what practical purpose this tent has, but sometimes beautiful things are just there to be beautiful.

http://fashionananthropologicalpointofview.blogspot.ca/

[Maria @ All Things Luxurious]

This is so cute! What a fabulous idea. Thanks for sharing!

[miranda]

I love this so much!!! Need to save this for when I have kids!!!
-Miranda
http://paperthoughtsfabricdreams.com

[Mariah]

Ah, tents have a special place in my heart. Thanks for sharing!

[UH2L]

When I was a kid, we used blankets over the side of our ping pong table and slept under it. That was a lot of fun and big but this looks cooler.

[Lois]

This is fantastic! Bookmarking this one for a future project. Thanks for sharing :)

[Jinna Yang]

Love DIY posts - this is awesome, thanks!!

xx,
Jinna

http://greaseandglamour.com/

[Julia]

So cute!

[Jenny]

This is so cute, great for a kids room! x

http://www.jenventure.blogspot.co.uk

[Kattie @ First Floor Side Door]

This is so fresh! I love the fabric choices.

[Mrs. Watson]

OMG I love this!

[itziar]

My son would love it!

http://mykitschworld.blogspot.com.es

[Adeola Naomi]

SUPER COOL!!!

[Kym Ducharme]

that is so pretty! I think i need to make one of these for my son for sure. I have been eying some vintage blue curtains that I haven't bought because I had no real use for them... looks like i found one :)

[Cristy]

This is so cute! It looks like it can be a fun little playground for kids. Nice idea! :)