DIY Sturdy Indoor Grow Tent

Hi there, this is my first post to instructables!

I have been wanting to start an indoor garden to plant herbs and vegetables for myself and my rabbits. Currently many of the indoor grow tents on the market are expensive and cheaply made. Most of these tents have metal poles for the frame but only use plastic connectors to hold them together. After a while these pieces tend to break apart or crack. This made me think about my options. I could either spend a ton of money on a high quality tent, go in on buying a cheaply made one, OR

I could forgo both of these options and create an indoor grow tent of my own!

These are the steps I took to make this a reality. I am using higher quality materials to ensure that this will be sturdy and have a longer life span than the on market tents. I decided to make the base out of freestanding shelving units. This allows the builder to customize their tent to their hearts content. Many boxed stores sell freestanding shelving kits or the components to build one. Another option is to check your local thrift shop or garage sales to see if you can find one even cheaper.

Putting this tent together does take time and work, however the end result is worth it!

2 - Honey Can Do® 36" Chrome Wire Freestanding Shelving Support Poles - 2 Pack

2 - Honey Can Do® 36"W x 14"D Chrome Wire Freestanding Shelving Unit Shelf

3 yards of Duck Canvas Fabric

Reflective Insulation

Reflective Foil Tape

Sewing Machine

Heavy Duty Thread

Bobbin(s)

Denim Machine Needles (Size 16)

Fabric Scissors or Rotary Cutters

Cutting Mat

Ironing Board and Iron

Tailor's Chalk

Ruler

Zipper(s)

Optional:

Plastic Clamps or Clips

You will start this project off by setting up your shelving unit. I chose to set up one shelf at the very top of the poles and one at the very bottom. In order to assemble it you must use the shelf support clips. These should be included when you purchase your shelves. If not you can then purchase 1 inch shelf support clips.

Place the support clips a rung or two higher than where you want the top of the shelf to be because when you are pushing the shelf onto the clips, your shelf and clips will slide down lower onto the pole.

Measure out your shelving unit and write down the measurements. This is to ensure that you are making the pattern as accurate as possible. My shelving units measured out to be 36" x 36" x 14".

Then measure the thickness of the Reflective Insulation. Mine was 1/8" thick. Since the reflective insulation will be placed behind the canvas of the tent, we will need to include this in our measurements for the pattern.

Now our measurements in total will be 36 1/8" x 36 1/8" x 14 1/8". We will take these measurements to create a pattern for the canvas tent. When creating this pattern we will want to assign a seam allowance to the project. For my tent pattern the seam allowance was set to 3/8" This image is a sketch of the pattern. That way when put the pattern onto the fabric I have something to reference.

Drawing out a pattern onto dirty or wrinkly fabric makes it much harder to remain accurate. Clean and iron the duck fabric canvas. I bought my fabric from a local thrift shop and it smelled musty when I brought it home. To clean this fabric I decided to use warm water with a small amount of bleach added. I made sure that there wasn't enough bleach to discolor the canvas but enough to kill any germs or smells residing in the fabric. I recommend using gloves and a wash cloth to clean. It takes time but once you complete this, you can let it dry.

Now you will need to iron out the canvas to reduce the wrinkles on the fabric. I used my steam iron at a medium-high level, and pressed back and forth on the fabric to smooth it out.

After both of these steps are completed you will need to draw the pattern onto the fabric. To do this I used my yard stick ruler, a square ruler and tailor's chalk to transfer my pattern onto the fabric. To ensure that I was drawing smooth lines, I made sure to draw along the grain of the fabric. I recommend drawing on the seam allowances of each piece of fabric as well. This helps when attaching fabric and sewing along the seam lines.

Once you transfer all of the patterns onto the canvas it is time to cut out the fabric. Move the fabric over to the cutting mat if you haven't already. You can use either fabric scissors or rotary cutters to cut out the pattern. I used my rotary cutter and my ruler to ensure that I was cutting the fabric in a straight line.

This leaves you with 4 fabric Rectangles (36 1/2" x 14 1/2") and 2 fabric Squares ( 36 1/2" x 36 1/2")

It is time to begin attaching fabric edges with fusible webbing. For my project I started by attaching one fabric Rectangle lengthwise to one of the fabric Squares.

Bring those 2 pieces of fabric and webbing to the ironing board. I used fusible webbing to attach the square and the rectangle together before sewing. To use this I cut out out a strip as long as the seam. Then I placed the webbing in-between both pieces of fabric and aligned them edge to edge. I had to make sure that webbing stayed within that seam allowance.

I used pins to secure the fabric and webbing while ironing it together, however you do not have to do that. You will need to read the instructions on how to press your fusible webbing. Different brands may have different instructions.

After they are aligned, I used a damp piece of cotton fabric as a pressing cloth and set the steamer to it's highest setting. To start ironing lay the damp pressing cloth overtop the fabric and press the iron down onto the fabric where the webbing is. Do not move the iron around when doing this, you will need to keep pressure for 10 seconds. Work down the seams of the overlaying fabric with the iron. This will need to be repeated for all touching seams of the fabric.

After letting the fusible webbing and fabric cool off, you can take the fabric over to your sewing machine.

To set up your sewing machine you will need to spin a bobbin of your chosen thread. Follow your machine's directions on how to spin a bobbin. Since Canvas is a thicker material, I chose to use a new Denim Machine needle (size 16). Make sure that you are replacing your needles frequently or whenever they begin to dull. A sharper needle is more accurate and easier to sew with.

Then thread your needle and bobbin for sewing. Before you begin to stitch, adjust the tension and stitch of your sewing machine. I used a scrap piece of canvas and tested the tension and the stich of the thread to ensure it worked.

Now that the sewing machine is set up, bring the fabric over to the machine. If you find that it is hard sewing with this much fabric, then I recommend you roll up your excess fabric and clip it close to the sewing machine. This will allow you to move the fabric easier and have less stress about keeping the stitches straight. I began by placing the needle a few stitches away from the edge of the fabric. Before sewing I mad sure the needle was pushed all the way through the fabric, you can do this by turning the hand wheel. Start by back stitching a few stitches and then you can sew down to the other end of the seam. At the end of the stitch use the backstitch to secure in place.

Once you sew the edges together you will need to return to the ironing board. The backside of the fabric will have the edges of the seam fabric sticking out. Press this flap of fabric to the backside of the Rectangle with an iron. Return back to the ironing board to sew this flap down and stich along the tape edges.

These steps will need to be repeated for the other attachment seams. I attached 2 rectangles to each square. The fabric rectangles are set up on the parallel sides of the square.

This step is important to ensure that your tent will stand up against wear and tear. Without finishing the edges, the fabric can begin to fray and pull apart.

To finish the edges you can use a zig-zap stitch or you can use a overlock stitch. For this I marked my seam allowance of 3/8" and ironed the edge. After ironing I took it to the sewing machine and used a overlocking stitch to finish the edge.

It is time to attach the zippers to the fabric. For my design I have place a zipper along the top of the tent. As well as in the front of the tent.

This step is customizable and you can place zippers where ever you please on your tent. Just remember that the insulation will have to be cut to match with the zipper openings. Personally I designed my zippers so I can remove the fabric from the frame completely if I wanted to. This is not a necessary step but I added heavy duty interfacing to the canvas where the zippers would be attached. This creates a stiffer and easier to open zipper.

For more information on attaching and sewing zippers you can view this instructable by MikaelaHolmes

One of the last steps to finishing your tent is to add the reflective insulation to the inside. One way to attach the insulation to the tent is by using the reflective tape. This will allow you to tape the insulation directly onto the chrome poles and cover seams in the reflective material.

Another option would be to use Super fabric adhesive to attach the insulation directly onto the fabric. If using this method, I would recommend letting the glue to cure for at least a week to ensure that there are no lingering fumes or chemicals left behind. Those may harm any plants or seedlings you may grow in there if you do allow this to cure properly.

Once your tent have been put together you can add in any vents or ducting holes needed for your set-up. This will be different for each person depending on their equipment being used in their tent. I do not have all of the supplies needed to set up the ventilation or ducting for my own tent but I do plan on adding that in.

Another customization you can do is add a pocket to the inside of the tent. You can place your tools and other accessories in the pocket. One way to make a pocket is by cutting out the shape of the pocket into the insulation. Then you can tape the bottom edges down and leave the top open for the pocket.