Little Teepee

With a few materials and these simple steps you can build a kid's teepee in just a few hours.

Materials used:

• 4- 4"x60" wood poles
• Jute twine

Fabric:

• 6 yards 55" muslin for sides
• 1 yard 60" canvas for pole slots

I created a useable pattern piece for the teepee sides out of newspaper. If you prefer, you could just draw it out on your fabric. The dimensions of the triangle should be 4" top, side sloping 50" down into the 40"bottom.

Your pole casings should be the same length as the sides of your teepee after they're hemmed, and wide enough to wrap around the pole, plus a couple inches to spare. I cut strips from the canvas measuring 51"x6".

You will need to cut out four pieces EACH of

• Teepee sides (triangle pieces)
• Tent casings (6x51" rectangle pieces)

To sew the pole casings begin with a 6x51" rectangle piece. Hem each 6" side half an inch, then fold the piece together lengthwise (hot dog style) and sew together with a 3/4" seam.

Begin with one triangle piece and one pole casing. Starting at the top end of the triangle piece pin your casing along the 50" (length) edge, then sew together. Repeat with remaining teepee sides and pole casings.

*TIP: this works nicely if you do this with the seams facing out on your casing, open the edges and sew each side to a triangle.

When all teepee sides and pole casings are together... leave the last edge open and fold the teepee in half with the casings on the inside. Then match together the last open edge of teepee triangle and pole casing and sew them together.

Drill a hole 16.5" from the top of each pole. Make sure that the holes are large enough to thread the jute through.

Slide your poles into their casings being sure that the hole drilled ends are at the top (narrow end) of the teepee.

Stand the teepee and thread the jute through all poles, wrap excess jute around them for added stability, then tie the ends together.

Once your tent is standing sturdy decide which side you want to be the front of your teepee. Cut a vertical slit 3/4's of the way up the middle to create an entryway.

ENJOY: indoors, outdoors, camping, at the beach, etc.