Children will love this play tent! Made in a traditional tepee shape, it requires moderate sewing skill and takes slightly longer to make than many of the other projects in this book – but don’t be put off! It really is worth the effort and is sturdy enough to last for many years, guaranteeing hours and hours of fun for all those who are lucky enough to play in it.
Take 1.5-cm/½-in. seam allowances throughout unless otherwise stated.
6 hours
1. Draw pattern templates following the dimensions given on the templates and cut out. Pin the patterns to your chosen fabric and cut three pieces of fabric for the sides of the text and two for the front. With right sides together, pin and machine stitch the three side pieces together. Press the seams open. With right sides together, following the diagram, pin and machine stitch one front piece to each side. Press the seams open.
2. Repeat Step 1 using the lining fabric.
3. With right sides together, pin and machine stitch the two front panels together from the top down for a distance of about 90 cm/36 in. Press the seam open. Repeat on the lining fabric.
4. With right sides together, pin the lining to the main fabric around the bottom edge, matching the seams of both fabrics. Machine stitch in place, leaving a gap of 2.5 cm/1 in. at either side of each seam and stitching around the opening for the door. Snip the seam at the top of the door opening and turn the tent right side out.
5. On the main fabric, press under 1.5 cm/½ in. around the top of the tent and machine stitch in place. Repeat with the lining fabric. Pin, tack and machine stitch a line from the bottom to the top of the tent 2.5 cm/1 in. from each seam to form four corner channels.
6. Hand stitch around the top of the tent between the channels to join the main fabric and lining fabrics together.
7. Cut a 50-cm/20-in. length of ribbon. Measure halfway along it and machine stitch it onto the tent 5 cm/2 in. from the top, in the centre of the back panel of the tent.
8. Cut four 30-cm/12-in. lengths of ribbon. Machine stitch one ribbon to the bottom corner of each door opening, folding under 1.5 cm/½ in. at the end. Stitch the remaining two ribbons onto the seam between the front and side panels 55 cm/21½ in. from the bottom of the tent, taking care not to stitch through the channel.
9. Push the dowelling poles up through the corner channels and push the bottom ends of the poles into the ground slightly so that the side panels are pulled flat. (You may need an extra pair of hands for this!) Gather up the top of the tent around the poles and tie the ribbon several times around it, tying with a bow to secure.
