A Handmade Hideaway

A Kids’ Teepee

No adventure is complete without a teepee—or so my husband said when he determined that our oldest son, Grayson, needed a teepee to match his adventure themed quilt. While still contemplating whether the teepee was actually for my husband or son, I learned that children’s teepee can costs over $100! Instead of pulling out my credit card, I pulled out my sewing machine.

This project turned out to be one for the whole family! My husband bought 4 wooden dowels, drilled holes in the top, and lashed them together with rope while Grayson managed from his sandbox. Then, the boys passed the project to me to make the tepee covering.

I knew I wanted to place the teepee over the adventure themed quilt, which is rather bright and loud, I chose a more subtle, but equally as fun, pattern for the teepee covering. And, since I wasn’t trying to please a rough crowd with this project, I loosely followed this great, rather amusingly written tutorial. I didn't measure exactly how much material I used, but it was probably close to three yards. I cut out three side panels and a door, made ties to hold it to the framing, and sewed the whole thing together. I hemmed the bottom and the top and added ties to the front door panels.

The project only took a few hours, which was incredibly worth it for the many hours of playtime Grayson—along with my husband, and now our youngest, Edward—has had in his kids’ teepee!