How to make a Teepee

One thing I remember very fondly about my childhood is my love of forts. Who doesn't want a cozy hideaway all their own? Admittedly, Henry may be too young to appreciate the fun of forts right now but my nostalgia got the best of me and I couldn't resist making a teepee for him anyway. Until he's ready to play in it his cousins will be more than happy to make good use of it when they come to visit...and as it happens I'm able to squeeze in there too ;)

There are some pretty amazing teepee designs out there and I was definitely inspired to try some larger outdoor versions, but since this one was going to go in Henry's room I had to be mindful of size. Because Henry's room (and every room in our house) is quite small I decided to use 4 dowels instead of 5 to make it a bit more compact as it will probably be moving around the house quite a bit. A really nice feature of this DIY is that even though it looks like it takes up a lot of room, it can be easily folded and stored away!

Materials:

4 x  6' dowels 
9' x 12' canvas drop cloth like this one from Amazon
​Sisal rope 
​6 Grommets with grommet tool
​Leather cord 
Drill and Forstner bit (optional)
​6 screws and washers
​Optional: string lights/ feather garland

Drill a hole about 7" from the top of each dowel, making sure it's large enough to accommodate the width/diameter of the rope.

Feed the rope through the first dowel and secure with a knot. Depending on the rope you're using it may be helpful to burn/melt the end of it to prevent fraying making it easier to put through the holes. Feed the rope through another dowel and wrap it around to secure it. Arrange the dowels in the teepee formation with the front poles slightly wider than the back, as you feed and wrap the remaining two dowels. When you have all 4 poles in position weave the rope over and under and wrap around all poles a couple of times as well. 

It definitely helps to assemble the teepee somewhere where you can lay out the canvas especially since you may want to iron it first. Our kitchen became a construction zone for a day or two, complete with a pant-less foreman! 

I decided to include supports to keep the teepee legs in place, but this isn't necessary. I just didn't want things shifting as kids were clambering in and out, especially since it would probably spend most of it's time on hardwood floors which are slippery. I cut two pieces of wood we had around the house into equal lenghs and drilled 7/8" holes 43" apart. The teepee legs sat nicely in the holes and kept everything in place. I also tied a piece of string between the back two legs (at the top) to prevent them from sliding too far apart and this worked really well. 

Arranging the canvas was a bit awkward at first because the size I ordered was a bit too long.
After ironing out the creases, I draped the material over the frame and had my husband hold it in place while I cut away the excess material which made it much easier to work with. At this point you want to make sure that the fabric closes nicely at the front, before you secure it. ​

To secure the canvas to the frame, I started with one screw (with washer) at the back and then put another screw and washer in the two front poles. When everything was where I wanted it I also put screws in the bottom of each dowel so the material would remain nice and tight when the teepee was fully open. 

To give the teepee a cozier feel I wanted to close the top a little bit. I used three grommets on each side, spaced about 2 inches apart and then tied it up using leather cord. This part is totally optional but I really love the character it gives it as well. If you're looking for more ideas for things to decorate your teepee with check out my feather garland and felt campfire DIYs! String lights are always a great addition too!

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