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Wednesday, November 23, 2011

For the Kids-DIY A Frame Tent


I was so excited to start this project when I first stumbled across it...the DIY A-Frame Tent from Cakies. Gray LOVES building tents, whether under the table with a sheet, under pillows on the couch, in his bed...So I thought this would be a really cool present for Christmas!

So I basically followed the directions step by step as in the original post. The only thing that I altered was the size of fabric that was used. I used a piece of fabric that was about 78" long and 39" wide (I think they said a single bed sheet would work-but I thought that was a bit too big). Once I got it all assembled (handy hubby drilled the holes and cut the wood-although I probably could've done that! But I was barefoot in the kitchen doing housework and looking after the youngin's!). It took two of us to hold the frame in place and hang the sheet. I'm not sure how Rubyellen at Cakies got hers to stay in place? Cause ours was slipping all over the place! I think the dowel in the holes weren't snug enough...so we had to come up with a solution to hold the tent poles in place without them spreading further apart....here's what we did....


About 1/2 inch or so down from the top of the tent legs, I screwed in an eye hook on each side. I then tied a bit of twine to each side...this part was a bit tricky (it's a two person job, not one!). I was trying to balance one side while holding the other and tying the string! You want to spread the tent legs out as much as you think it needs to be and then tighten and knot the string in place.


So, I could just leave it like this. It would be perfectly fine-if I didn't have two (one soon to be) rambunctious boys. I think it needs to be a bit sturdier and I would like the material to be straight and not cave in at the bottom. So hubby and I put our heads together and came up with a plan...


We went and bought two more dowels to use at the bottom of each tent leg. Similar to the design at the top, we will drill a hole for the end of each dowel to fit through. I am going to attach a couple more elastics to the bottom of the material and loop the dowel through them. Hopefully that will solve the sturdiness issue. Sorry, I haven't done it yet! But I will post a photo once I do and let you now how it goes! I guess it just shows some things are not quite as easy as they look. I'm so glad I did it though, cause it's pretty awesome if I do say so myself!

Imprintalish


Lish

10 comments:

Amy @ Five Kinds of Happy said...

Such a cute tent! I especially love the fabric pattern. Kids go crazy for that stuff!!!

Amy said...

I absolutely love that. I have that on my to do someday list.... love that fabric.

Karima said...

What a great and easy idea! I am your newest follwer, Karima www.karimascrafts.com

Megan @ The Crafty Conundrum said...

Awesome idea! Now I just need to find some more space so I can make one of my own...

Boden said...

This is FABULOUS! My kids would live in here, I'm sure! I'd be thrilled if you came and shared this at the Head to Head Showdown, going on right now at www.icantstopcrafting.blogspot.com ~Jen

Crazy Wonderful said...

Yours turned out great!!! I have the same tent pinned to make for Christmas this year. Great tip for keeping the top together!

Boden said...

Thanks for linking up! ~Jen

Kara said...

This is such a fun idea! My boys would have loved it when they were little. I am featuring it today at Creations by Kara. :)
http://www.creationsbykara.com/2011/11/look-what-i-made-linky-party-11-30-2011.html

Gmoneyfunk said...

Can you tell me how much distance there was between the eye hooks at the top? I am guessing maybe 3-5"? Looking at putting a hook and eye closure there but not sure what size to purchase.
Thanks for the help.

Lish @ Imprintalish said...

Gmoneyfunk-I hope you check back, I tried to reply to your comment but you are a no reply commenter...The space between the wood at the top is about 2 inches. With the eyes hooks screwed in, I have just under an inch of string....hope that helps!