Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Tent Week, Day Two -- Hula Hoop Dome Tent!

Today's tent tutorial is by my amazingly talented sister Elizabeth. She came up with the idea for this tent a few months back, and I've been begging her ever since to write up a tutorial for my blog. At last, here it is!

CLICK HERE for UPDATED PATTERN LINKS!!


This adorable kid-size dome tent was made from hula hoops and bed sheets.
The whole project cost less than $10!

Materials:
* 5 large hula hoops (84" - 90" circumference)
* King size flat or fitted sheet or a twin sheet set. I recommend that you use fabric without a directional pattern.
* Pattern (see end of post)





If using fitted sheets, cut along the seams that make the corners,


and remove the elastic so the sheet lays flat.

Cut out the following pieces: 6 wedges, 1 circle with a diameter of 50", 1 door flap (three inches larger on the curved edges than the shape on the pattern, which is for the opening), 30 small tabs (4 3/4" x 3"), 6 large tabs (4 3/4" square).


Trace the pattern pieces onto the sheet and cut out each piece. I used a king size fitted sheet, and this is how I laid out the pieces. (The large section at the right is on the fold, and that is where I cut out my circle.)


I had to piece together two of the wedges and the door flap in order to make it all fit on one fitted king size sheet. If you have to piece anything together, make sure to add an additional 1/2" seam allowance where you connect the pieces.

I used the leftover scraps to cut out the door flap.

Cut a doorway in the front wedge, using the pattern. Using purchased or your own bias tape, bind the edges of the doorway. Sew a piece of velcro at the top of the doorway. Bind the round edge of the door flap with bias tape. Sew a matching piece of velcro at the top of the door flap.


Hem the long sides of the small tabs and press.


Hem one edge of each large tab. Fold each in half right sides together and sew across the bottom edge. Turn right side out and press.


Line up the middle of the small tabs with the placement lines on one side of each of the six wedges and pin. Line up the bottom of the large tabs with the bottom placement lines and pin. (You will have 12 leftover small tabs for the bottom of your tent.)

Lay the wedges right sides together, sandwiching the tabs between the two wedges. Pin in place and sew using a 1/2" seam allowance. Match up another wedge, pin, then stitch it on. Repeat with the other three wedges, creating two halves of the tent top. Serge or zigzag along the raw edges. Pin the two halves of the tent top together, matching all 6 points of the wedges. Sew together and serge or zigzag the raw edges.


Fold your circle into sixths and mark each sixth with a pin. Match the seams of the six wedges with the marks on the circle. Overlap the door flap over the doorway and pin. Ease the bottoms of the wedges around the circle, pinning in place. (This will take some work to get it right, because your tent top may not be the exact size of the bottom circle.) Place the folded tabs into the seam allowance on the corners of the wedges and in the middle of each wedge, so that this time the wedges are on the inside of the tent. Stitch around the circle.


Take your hula hoops apart. On mine, they were wrapped with ribbon, which was taped in place, so it was necessary to remove the ribbon. Find the seam in each hoop and pop it apart. (There will be a two-ended cork holding it together.) My hula hoops had a few small pieces of gravel inside to make that shaking sound when you hula, so be sure to watch for them and throw them away.

Thread three of the hula hoops through the small tabs in the top of the tent and poke the ends into the large tabs. Hook the final two hoops together, using one of the two ended corks. Thread the connected hoop through the small tabs on the inside of the bottom of the tent. Cut one of the connected hoops using a saw as necessary to make the circumference of the hoop the same size as the circumference of the bottom of the tent. Use one more two-ended cork to hook the two ends together.



You're done!

Smaller version -- print and increase size 365% at your local copy shop.
Or, save full-size version of pattern and print at local copy shop.

CLICK HERE TO FIND PATTERN LINKS!!

59 comments:

Holly C. said...

Both you and your sister are just TOO good!

Anonymous said...

Very cool!!!!

michelleml said...

I love this idea but not sure i have the patients to piece it all together

Leslie said...

how fun!!! you have such a talented family

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

That's freaking cool. I will be featuring this at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com soon. That family of yours is BEYOND amazing!

Alisha said...

I love this! It's going on my 2010 Christmas gift idea list. :)

Jen said...

Very fun!!! Your family is super talented :)

Heather - Dollarstorecrafts.com said...

That's so awesome, Elizabeth!! Thanks for begging for the tutorial, Care! :)

Unknown said...

this is amazing i love it. very creative :)

Mombrud said...

How amazingly dedicated. You are one creative seamstress.

RuthAnne said...

Genius!

Anna said...

oh my gosh! that looks like so much fun. definitely have to move this to the top of my list. thanks for sharing, and thanks to your sister, too!

Rachel@oneprettything.com said...

This is really, really amazing! You have the most creative family, I love it! I'll be linking.

Su said...

Wow!!!!! (Very well-deserved exclamation marks)
That's just fantastic. I can't believe it was so inexpensive to make.

Michelle Frae Cummings said...

thats fantastic!

Taylor said...

now THAT'S creative! Amazing.

Mandi said...

There are numerous things I see on these crafting blogs that I think I'd like to make one day... BUT THIS ONE WILL BE FIRST!! I can't wait. Seriously.

Anne said...

Is your entire family crafty, or what? This is such a cool tent, and I LOVE the hula hoops for the frame!!

I linked to your tutorial out on Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-make-a-dome-tent-from-hula-hoops/2010/02/16/

--Anne

Lori said...

Wow This is so amazing!!

elijona said...

it's great!!

Gédane

Manoa Road said...

That's pretty dang awesome!! I was thinking for ages what I could use to emulate those tent thingies you can use for support. I also just happened to be thinking about making a hanging tent for my little ones; made to look like a little storefront. I already drew my specs, but this is a great reference! Thank you! (I'm putting a link to you on my blog [www.manoaroad.com])

Anonymous said...

Excelente idea! Está preciosa!

Annie said...

I know that the pattern is available to print, but can you post the dimensions of your angled pieces?

MaryAnne said...

Absolutely brilliant!

Lenetta said...

This project blows my mind! I love it!!! I linked to it on my weekly roundup - thanks so much for sharing!

Unknown said...

I love this and would love to make it but can't print it at full size or scale it up. Would it be possible to get the dimensions of the wedge - sides, bottom and from point to centre of bottom.

Care said...

Hi Ruth!

I don't have the pattern here (it's my sister's), but if you'll send me an email I can ask her to send the dimensions to you!

Care.

littleflower said...

Impressive.

I wish I had it in me to do this. Very cool.

Костюченко Мария said...

Спасибо за рассказ подробный! Как раз ломаю голову над будщим домиком. Ваш рассказ очень мне помог :)

Jenny said...

If I print this to full size, what size paper do I need to use?

Care said...

Jenny,

It is about the size of a posterboard -- I am guessing you'd have to take it to your local copy shop! :o)

Best of luck!
Care.

a.eborn said...

LOVE this idea! Would you mind emailing me the dimensions? I'm having a hard time getting my printer to work today :P I would love to feature this on my sister and I's blog as well. Can't wait to make it!!

Thanks!
truliescrumptious(at)gmail(dot)com

Unknown said...

Wow, that is just so cool! What a neat idea!

LakshmiRP said...

too good and so generous of you to share it with all of us. This is a must in my to-do list now and is on top of everything else, my dd would love it, i need to buy 4 more hula hoops now! way to go! Thanks

Simply-Creactivity said...

This is simple awesome. You sisters sure are super creative. I also tried making the bathrobe. I send you a picture as soon as take one. I would love to make the Dome tent. Could you please give me the dimensions for the wedges and circle with the seam allowance. I want to make one for my 20 month old. can't wait to try my hands on these cute tents.I'll be waiting. Thanks

Cupcakeaholic said...

Genius! I am soo trying this! x

Mary said...

could you possibly upload the pattern again? Scribd said there was an error processing the document. Thank you!

The Marchants said...

so does the pattern link not work anymore? I know tons of people want to try this, it is all over pinterest, but I always get an error message when I try to download the pattern. I'm not good enough to figure out the dimensions on my own! please repost the pattern dimensions :)

loonaar said...

are you able to re load or email me pattern, thanks

loonaargrafix@yahoo.com.au

Mark said...

please e-mail me the pattern, thanks

markandmollie at gmail dot com

Les Créateliers said...

Thank you for this tutorial! I posted it on my website, here's the link:
http://www.lescreateliers.com/Les_Createliers/Idees_Ideas/Entries/2012/5/31_Tentes_dinterieurIndoor_tents.html
Cheers,
Marie-Eve

Regina said...

This is wonderful. I would love to make it for my grandchildren. However, I am not finding a link to the pattern. Could you send me the link or the dimensions for the pattern pieces?

Thank you so much.

Motley said...

This looks like so much fun! I am looking forward to making it, alas the link is broken. Could you please email me the pattern or repost it?

Thank you!

Cami said...

I would love to make this for my kiddos, but the pattern link isn't working. :( Can you email me the dimensions for the pieces or the pattern link? I'm doing this for a Christmas present and want to get started ASAP!

Thanks a bunch!

cdbarger@gmail.com

MizPat said...

Please let me know when the link to the pattern is working. I want to make this for my 2 yr old Great-grandson.

MizPat
patriciajohnston30@msn.com

Krystle said...

Do you have the pattern for this??

jameike said...

Please can you sent me the pattern? such a great idea!! i love it!!

Greetings from Germany

mareike

marunkes@gmx.de

Anonymous said...

Brilliant! I just came across this on Pinterest. We have a toy ent already but it is none too sturdy and it's days are numbered I'm afraid. I'm so glad to have this tutorial for a replacement tent. I'll be keeping an eye out in thrift stores for king sheets with a fun design to them. Thank you!

Match Momma said...

I'm not sure if you are emailing the pattern out, but I would love a copy. I would LOVE to make this, please.
thanks
Tricia
matchmomma at charter dot net

Unknown said...

Please email me a copy to ehret_family@yahoo.com I would love to make one of these for two sons. Thanks, it looks like such a great idea, you are brilliant for coming up with this!

Siqiniq said...

Please add the bias tape and velcro to the list of materials at the beginning so people know everything they need to purchase.

Care said...

I have a new file host, and have just uploaded both sizes of the dome tent pattern -- check out this link:
http://obsessivelystitching.blogspot.com/2012/12/updated-hula-hoop-dome-tent-link.html

THANK YOU!
Care.

ssmurray5 said...

You could use irrigation tubing instead of hula hoops. Home depot sells it cheaply.

Alli said...

This is so awesome! Thanks for sharing! :)

Unknown said...

HEY! just ran across your tent instructions from pinterest. thanks so much for the downloadable pattern! i recently had a candy land party and used PVC pipe to make rounded arches (the PVC pipe i purchased was rolled like a hose). my hubby cut the pipe into 5 foot sections for the arches......i have some left over so ill try PVC pipe instead of hula hoops. thanks again! ;0)

esoraleak; Kaela said...

Great idea! Your instructions are very helpful also. Your project inspired one that I just made, which will soon be visible on my sewing blog: fabricoftime dot blogspot dot com.

Zita said...

Where do the extra 12 small tabs go? You said "for the bottom"...? Thanks for this awesome tutorial!

Unknown said...

I made a tent today! Great pattern! Thank you!

Coppercoins said...

I love this tent! I've made 3 of them over the years.