Friday, February 19, 2010

Tent Week, Day Five -- PVC Frame and Mini Tents!

Today I want to give instructions and measurements for making a rooftop frame for a standard 34" square card table. Can't you picture the most ADORABLE little cottage with this roofline? When I make mine, I will include a round window that opens into the "attic" for toys to hide and "play" in!


You will need:

two 10 ft lengths of PVC pipe

fittings:
4 x 90 elbow
2 x side outlet 90s (mine had one threaded outlet)
2 x adapter from threads to pvc pipe


(This is what my side outlet 90s and adapters look like.)


Cut the following pieces:

4 x 21"
2 x 31"
1 x 29" -- ?
I would cut the final pipe's length a little longer at first. Not all side outlet 90s are the same, so there is potential for this measurement being wrong for your particular fittings.


Now all that's left is fitting your pipes together! The two 31" lengths lay on the table, the four 21" lengths create the gables, and the final length is the roofline. Ta-Da! You're ready to strap the frame to your table and create your tent/house!


Now I have to share a few mini tents -- because at MY house, having ANYTHING in miniature is The Coolest Thing EVER!


Susan made these mini teepees from the top pieces leftover from her teepee tent tutorial.


They are the perfect size for her daughters' princesses -- and her girls are just THRILLED with them!


This is the G.I. Joe tent my brothers used to play with. We had three little dome tents, and this was the smallest. There was a slightly larger tan one for He-Man, and an even bigger red one for my sisters' and my Barbies. These are replacement poles -- swamp cooler tubing. It's not quite stiff enough to do the job. Ideas, anyone? I was thinking maybe glow stick necklaces, but the length is a problem... you can't cut glow sticks down! The original poles were some kind of sturdy plastic that came from a home goods store, but after research we can't figure out what on earth it is!


And finally, this little guy I found at a thrift store. It's about 8" tall, and so stinking cute! I am wondering if a very heavy weedwhacker wire would be stiff enough to duplicate poles for a really small tent like this?


I really hope you've enjoyed Tent Week! It has been tons of fun, and tons of work...

...and I am definitely ready to sew something else now! :o)

16 comments:

Susan Yates said...

Sooooo cute. I love it. I need to locate a card table.

Rhyah-- said...

Hi there! I Just found your blog through "MADE and am loving all of your great ideas! How about water line tubing for the poles? Ya know the, stuff for the water line in your fridge?

Leslie said...

the miniature tents are too fun!!!

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

Thanks for an amazing week. That was A LOT of work, but was awesome!

Jen said...

Great work this week! Now take a little break and relax this weekend :)

CraftCrave said...

Thank you! This blog post will be advertised on CraftCrave in the Handcraft category today (look for timestamp: [19 Feb 01:00pm GMT]).

J. Clark said...

Hey, I recognize that mini army tent - I remember cramming my stuffed bears in it as a young child!

I love to look at the mini versions of tents at outdoor stores. They do little sleeping bags too. You gonna make little sleeping bags now?

J.Clark

Anne said...

Great tutorial!

I posted a link to your tutorial on Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-create-a-pvc-peaked-roof-frame-for-a-table-tent/2010/02/20/

--Anne

Ronii said...

As for the GI Joe tent, I'm thinking plastic bracelets...

Ms Muffin said...

Loved all the tents! But am still scared of all the work ... :-)

So Sunny Day said...

I SO WISH I had kids right now for the card table tent... maybe the dog would like one :)

~ Emily N. from "too Blessed to Stress"

Carrie said...

The plastic totally looks like what our "Lawn Jarts" target rings are made out of. I'm also thinking you could maybe take apart one of those collapsible car window shades to keep the sun out. I think they have a similar tubing in them.

Linda said...

Try quarter inch plumbing supply line.

Twyla said...

there was a tent like this on TCB made with holahoops.

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Lucifer Smith said...

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