easy peasy tot teepee
August 6, 2012
Can you guess what this über fancy munchkin tent used to be? I guarantee you’ll be able to make your own in less than 30 minutes with an item lurking at the back of your closet…
…the item every woman has in her wardrobe but never wears & will eventually find its way into the refashion stash, donation box or rubbish bin…a full skirted maxi dress…it fits me like a tent anyway so why not just let it become one?
you’ll also need: scissors, string, elastics, thick thread, a needle, a length of stretched out t-shirt…
and 6 bamboo poles – any lightweight pole/pipe/stick will do, the longer your poles the bigger your finished teepee (or is it ‘tipi’?) will be
grasp all of the poles together & make sure the ends are all even & flat on the floor
wrap with elastic(s) to hold together & push the elastic 15-20cm down the poles
splay the poles out evenly leaving a wider space for the door area
weave the string under, over, around, through & between the top of the poles to firmly secure them together
the frame for your teepee is complete!
drape the maxi dress over the frame & find the best ‘fit’. Depending on the style of your dress you may have to do some clever snipping at the top – as mine was a halterneck I simply had to chop off the neck ties
once you’re happy with the drape of the dress bust out the needle & embroidery thread & stitch the fabric closed around the top of the poles on the outside
decide exactly where you’d like the opening to be…
and chop straight up the middle. The height of the door depends entirely on the height of your munchkin.
crawl into the nearly-done-teepee & stitch around the top of the poles, through the fabric and back again to secure…
by the time I had finished awkwardly stitching the top together, my tot teepee had freakishly transformed into a mommy sweat lodge…
after you’ve poked your head out & sucked in some fresh, cool air, duck back in & stitch around the poles about halfway down
that’s it!
I didn’t really like the look of the naked string so I wound a piece of stretched out t-shirt around the top to cover it…it’s now a much cleaner look
fertig! fill it with comfy pillows…
and try to explain to the dog that the cool new teepee is not his
*for more funky decor projects be sure to check out all of my Tutorials for the Nest
That is amazing. I may have to make one specifically FOR the dog…
Agreed! I think I have to make another one for the furry boy or the munchkin will never get a chance at hers…poles about half the size & a dowdy calf-length skirt from my stash should do it =O)
Very clever refashion!
Love this! What a fab idea, and to think of all the money I just spent on a play house!!
Looks awesome!! What a great idea!
fabulous, I love it!
Beautiful and it looks so simple…thanks for sharing!
Ashley
[...] a maxi dress that you are not wearing anymore? Have you wanted a teepee for your little one? Well Sheri will show you how to make one easy peasy! Have fun… make some s’mores in the kitchen [...]
[...] adore this tepee made from an old maxi dress (@ Awesome Sauce & [...]
Rocking awesome!!!!
Would like to reblog if you don’t mind…
Reblogged this on Tree of Life Learning and commented:
Friday Fun Pt 2:
At last I have found a craft worth blogging about. WHY are there are SO many out there, yet so few worth telling others about??? Ahh, the frustration… that ends TODAY. Enjoy & Thanks Awesomesauce
Reblogged this on vinniestovogue and commented:
Check this out – maxi dress to teepee, who would have thought.
I think my next project will be to make a very small, cat-sized one. We’ve got some cupboards above the fridge with about 2ft of clearance between them and the ceiling (the cats access it from the other side via catwalk) and this would be less of an eyesore than the cardboard box we’ve got up there for them to hide in. Thanks for the idea!