How to Build a Teepee

Here are the instructions on how to make a teepee like this one. I started by combining these instructions from DIY Network with these from Rachel Denbow's blog Smile and Wave, then added some adaptations of my own.

This makes a teepee whose final dimensions are 66 inches high, 48 inches wide, and 48 inches deep, so suitable for small children and small bedrooms.

Supplies
* 6 - 1" x 2" x 6' pieces of wood
* 1 - 9' x 12' canvas drop cloth¹
* 3 yards of leather cord
* 3 yards of ribbon

Instructions
1. Using a ¼" bit, drill holes into each piece of wood, 12 inches from the top. You'll use these holes at the end to tie together the wood pieces with the leather cord, so make sure your cord fits through the holes.








2. Gather up all six pieces of wood and temporarily tie them together loosely using cord, rope, masking tape, or anything else. Space out the pieces of wood so that the base is a hexagon with each side 24" long.

This is your chance to check out the size and make sure it's what you want before you start cutting fabric. I knew we had only 48"x48" to spare in the children's bedroom so I made a masking tape square of that size on the rug and made sure our teepee would fit in it.

Thank you, Shackleton.

3. Now, unroll the canvas drop cloth and cut out five side panels and one three-part door panel. The side panels should look like this:

With dimensions of 11.5" x 54" x 30.5".

The door panel is in three parts that should look like this:
The top panel has dimensions 11.5" x 14.5" x 15.5". The bottom panels have dimensions 10.25" x 40.5" x 17.25".

4. (Optional) Add a pocket.
Cut a piece of canvas to this shape:
With dimensions 27.5" x 11.5" x 30.5".

Position it on the wrong side of one canvas side panel 11 inches from the bottom seam.

Stitch the bottom of the pocket to the panel. You can leave the sides pinned but not sewn because they will get attached later when you create the side seams.

The pocket - attach along the bottom seam.

5. Hem the tops and bottoms of all the side panels as well as the top of door panel #1 and the bottoms of door panels #2 and 3.

6. Attach all five side panels to one another using French seams to create a channel 2.25" wide to slide the poles into².

To make the channel, start by stacking two side panels on top of one another with the wrong sides together. Sew them together with a ½" seam allowance.
Then open up the panels and flip them around so that the right sides are together. Stitch the panels together again with a 2.25" seam allowance.
This creates a 2.25 inch-wide channel into which you will insert the wooden poles at the end.

Do this to connect all five side panels.
One panel will have the interior pocket, but you can just sew over that the same way as all the others.

The side panels attached with French seams, with pocket in the center

When you're done, your tent cover should look like this:

Five side panels connected with French seams.
7. Now make the door.
Start by hemming the straight sides of both door panels with a ½"
Then sew each door panel to the top door section with a ½" seam, aligning the panels along the outer edges. The two door panels will overlap in the middle – this allows the teepee to be closed securely.
I stitched back and forth over the place where the doors overlap a few times to make it sturdier.

Align the door panels along the outside edge so that the two flaps overlap in the middle.

Then sew the door panel to the rest of your teepee using French seam channels, just as you did with all the side panels.
The finished cover

8. Now put the canvas cover on the wood frame.
First disassemble your "test" frame.
Thread a wooden pole through each of the channels, then gather them back up and spread out the frame again.
Tie the top together by threading the leather cord through all the drilled holes and winding around each pole until it feels stable and secure.

7. Add ribbon ties³.
Cut eight lengths of ribbon to 12 inches each.
Hand-sew the ribbons in the following places:


I placed my side ribbon ties at 24" up diagonally from the bottom seam, and my center ribbon ties at 9", 20", and 31" from the bottom seam.
These will allow you to tie the teepee closed or tie back the door to leave it open.

That's it! You're done!

I also made the directions into a PDF here.

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1. I used 8oz weight canvas because I was concerned anything heavier wouldn't make it through my inexpensive, lightweight sewing machine. However my machine had no trouble at all with the canvas and I could probably have used 10oz. without trouble.

2. Many people make teepees without channels, instead sewing the tent cover as one piece that is attached to the wooden frame with ties. However, while channels are quite a bit more work, they also result in a sturdier, more portable teepee.

3. You could do this before putting the canvas up on the frame but I find that it's easier to see where they should go when it's all hanging in proper position.