Summer Teepee

June 10, 2015

Summer Teepee

It's summer, let's make a teepee...

This is a very easy, very basic teepee. Hopefully it's simple to follow and I would love to see some of your work in the comments...

You'll need;

5m of 150cm wide fabric, or 2 king size bedsheets.

2m of 25mm twill tape or bias binding (if adding to the hem then you'll need another 5.3m)

4 poles, 1.6m long, 18mm thickness (B&Q)

Instructions:

Cut out 4 lengths of 125cm of fabric. Fold along the length, and lay them on top of each other.

Lay your fabric out so the the pattern direction of the fabric is going the same way down.

If the fabric needs pressing, do so now. It's worth the effort.

(I've made a paper template here, but some of you guys are plenty confident to go on without. Use newspaper taped together for a thrifty option. )

Mark out the triangle:

Draw 65cm along the base and 10cm across the top of the 125cm length

(You don't have a point at the top, and you do need this opening for the poles to cross through)

Join the 2 marks to get the slope of the teepee. It should look like the image above.

Cut out your triangles

This is the easy bit, hem all 4 pieces;

You can hem with a twill tape or bias tape,

You now need to finish the top cut line.

I've reinforced the edge with twill. Use a contrasting colour to add style :-)

We have our 4 sides ready to sew together, but let's add the door first, any windows and appliqué for ease.

Make an entrance

Measure 75cm along the fold from the bottom of a folded side panel, and cut the fold to this point. You should have 50cm (ish because you hemmed the base)) uncut at the top.

Reinforce these cut edges with your twill or bias tape. See below.

You're left with a messy looking end that will tear when the fabric is pulled, so let's reinforce this.

Cut 2 small pieces of twill tape to the width of the trim you've just added to the entrance. I've used a dab of glue to help position it into place before sewing. This Prym stuff is good, it doesn't gum up the needle and it washes away easily, and because it's yellow, you can see where you've dabbed it on.

Sew these 2 small pieces to the top of the entrance to reinforce this cut , one on the front, one in the exact position, on the back. It also looks neater.

For the brave...

Cut a square out of another side panel , I made mine 20cm long, 50cm from the bottom. This example was my first attempt, so you can't see a window in this teepee. Cut 2 strips of fabric to make the cross bar for the window, which I sewed along the length, right sides together, flipped right side out and pressed. Reinforce the cut edges with twill/

Now, right sides together, sew together 2 pieces along their long sides. Match patterns if you can.

Add a third piece to an unsewn side, until all 4 sides are sewn up to make your teepee.... Hang on!.....you're not quite finished...

Turn the teepee back with the good side facing out and sew a channel (or casing) for the dowel. That means, just sew a distance from the seam line to make room for the poles to go through.

I've use 18mm thick poles, so I've made my channels 22mm ish wide. I say ish... I had to whizz them through so I wouldn't be late picking the kids up from school! Fortunately, the lines weren't too wavy and the poles slid in easily. You could use your quilters bar to help you, I have 3 in the cupboard, I still wing it...

There you have it, add a bit of string, rope or strong elastic band at the top to secure the poles in place

Here are others I made