My sister asked me to help her make a Tee Pee for my niece Eva. It was fun to make and took us a couple of leisurely afternoons. This Tee Pee is a fun weekend project that can be used either indoors on a rainy day, or in the back yard when the sun is out. We’ve made it with an old bed sheet to save money on fabric. This is a very detailed tutorial so this project will stretch over two posts.
I know you are all super excited to get started on your Tee Pees. This part requires some basic straight line sewing skills. Don’t be intimidated by all the measurements and charts, there are lots of diagrams and pictures to guide you through every step.
Link for Part 1 – Making the frame
So here is Part 2 – Making the outer covering of the Tee Pee
For Part 2 you will need:
1x queen size bed sheet (flat) – Choose one that has plenty of life in it, you don’t want a super worn out one that will tear after a few uses.
Sewing machine and general sewing supplies
3m bias tape for trims and ties
measuring tape (with inches)
soluble fabric markeror tailors chalk
long ruler or piece of dowel
I have drawn and included measurements for the panels. Please note all measurements are in inches (sorry Aussies). And remember – MEASURE TWICE, CUT ONCE
The following measurements were calculated once the frame was made, so if you change the length of the poles, the fabric panels may need adjusting.
a) Using a tape measure and ruler mark out the first panel. Mark out the measurements without seam allowance then add seam allowances (to the outside). Start close to the edge of the sheet to ensure all panels will fit.
b) Cut out your first panel then use it as a template for subsequent panels using the cutting layout as a guide. For the door panel, cut a slit for the door.
c) Here is our cute assistant. She was fascinated by the measuring tape.
d) Add bias tape/binding around the door opening, I added a cute button to the top of the door opening where the binding overlapped.
e) Make 6 x 12″ bias tape tie cords by sewing your bias in half. Pin and sew 4 ties to the door panel about 12″ apart so they are equally spaced from the top and the bottom. Reserve the 2 remaining ties for later.
f) With WRONG sides of fabric together, sew together the long edges of the 5 panels. The seams should be on the outside of the cover at this stage (as pictured). Don’t worry you haven’t made a mistake.
g) Now we will hem the top opening edge. Roll a small edge over twice so there are no raw edges exposed towards what will be the inside of the tent and sew hem 1/2″ seam.
h) This part is crucial! Now we are making the tubes that the poles will feed through to keep everything together. Pay attention.
Now we want to sew a seam down the long sides of each long panel with the RIGHT sides of the fabric facing each other. The seam width should be about 1″ but depending on your dowel or your first seam you may have to make it just slightly wider or narrower. Try testing if the dowel fits snugly though one tube before you sew the rest. I had to make mine a little wider so some unpicking was involved.
The photo (h) shows you what the top of the cover should look like inside out.
i) *** this photo is slightly deceptive as we accidentally missed photographing one step.*** Before feeding your frame through the cover, the bottom seam needs finishing. Hem as in (g) with a slightly wider seam allowance closing up the end of the tubes in the process. Poles should not stick out the bottom (see image j)
Feed frame in to guide tubes through top opening. Two people may be required as some man handling is called for.
j) Tie backs. Here we are using the two remaining ties that we reserved earlier. Pin them in your desired position. These tie onto the bottom door ties to hold the door open. Sew into position. Either take the cover off again to sew, or the way I did it, with some help maneuver the whole tee pee including poles around the sewing machine.
OPTIONAL – My sister later added/sewed on small loops for tent pegs at the base of each pole. By pegging the Tee Pee in place when outdoors, it prevents gusts of wind blowing it over. No need to use tent pegs indoors.
SET UP: The frame opens up just like an umbrella. Fill it with pillows and decorate with some bunting to personalize.
That’s it!! All done. I hope the directions were clear enough. It’s one of those projects that seem more logical as you are putting it together, so don’t let all the steps intimidate you.
Part 2 took my sister and I a leisurely afternoon with a 1yo under our feet. (It’s almost taken me longer to edit and write the blog post, lol)
Please feel free to leave any questions as a comment and I’ll try to respond as a reply as soon as practicable.
I’d love to see photos of your finished Tee Pee. Why not post them to the My Poppet facebook fan page?
I have decided I will live in one of these.
Super cute.
Fantastic tutorial! I've had the fabric to make one of these for 5 months! I have 2 different patterns but none make as much sense as yours does. Thanks!
Can someone tell me how much room this will,take up
I made my little girl one for her birthday! Thank you the tutorial is great and so much easier than I expected it to be. Thanks again! (here's my teepee – http://heybubbles.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/yo-polly-is-2.html)
Hi Cintia, more than happy for you to put this on facebook, it was a fun tutorial! Thanks
Very beautiful. Thank you for the patern. Now I have to take my courage to do it ;o)
THIS IS GREAT! I have been wanting to make one for the longest time! Your tutorial is the best! Once I get some pictures I'll post a link!
I'm really confused on the measurements. Does the cut portion measure 32″ on the bottom? Or is that before the seam allowance is added? In other words am I marking the seam allowances inside or outside of the measurements in the first diagram?
Hi Liz. You add the seam allowance to the outside of the fist diagram. Thanks for pointing this out, I will clarify the instructions.
Have fun making your Tee Pee
x cinti
hmmm…that's what i did, but then when i went to lay it out there was no way to fit the four panels side-by-side on my queen sheet. so i assumed i needed to put the seam allowance inside rather than outside (call me ms. impatient!) i wonder if i just got a bad sheet or maybe aussie sheets and american sheets are sized differently? or did you unstitch and use the top of the sheet where there is about a four-inch foldover? sorry for all the questions…
other than the sizing confusion the sewing process was a breeze. i finished mine pretty quickly, only to realize i couldn't make it fit since i opted to go with the smaller/incorrect version where i put the seam allowance inside vs. outside the original measurements. at least i got some practice! round two tomorrow-hopefully with more success!
mmm. maybe US sheets, or just the ones you used are smaller? I'm not sure. We didn't un stitch any seams, but maybe this was a more generous sized sheet for a deeper mattress perhaps.
Glad to hear you are having another go.
Any idea what yardage of fabric you would need if you are not using a queen sheet? I am going to make one for my niece and use some outdoor fabric. I just want to be sure I have enough?
My calculation says 180 x 300 cm to fit all five parts:-)
Can anyone give me an idea of the size of finished teepee when it is set up? How much floor space does it take up, and how tall does it stand? Thanks in advance!!
I'm on holidays but will measure up as soon as I get home
Hi My sister just measured. It is about 120cm wide floor space and about 160cm tall.
If you shorten the poles you will get a smaller result
Hope that helps
Hi! I LOVE this tent, and so does my daughter and she has been asking me every 10 minutes for the last 2 days when I am going to make it for her. In my haste to make the tent I discovered that my metric calculations were way off and I didn't order enough fabric, however if I cut way back on the original seam allowances, I can just barely fit all five pieces onto my fabric. Is there a reason for the generous fabric allowances on the side or will I be okay with a standard 1cm between each piece?
Hi Brenda. In picture h you can see the wide seam becomes the tube to fit the frame rods through. If you are tight on fabric you can certainly use a smaller 1cm allowance but place your seam inside at step f ( ie sew right side of fabric together ) then add your tube guide using some extra fabric, doesn't need to match as it will be inside. Hope that helps
Ah, that makes much more sense now. I thought the seam allowances were for the first seam you sew when piecing it together, but the side seam allowances include that first seam, PLUS the guide tubes for the dowels. Thank you for the great idea to use another fabric for the tube guides! I need to stop reading/tutorials/calculating fabric needs/sewing in the middle of the night and do those things at an hour when my brain is fully functioning! I'm so glad I found your blog, btw!
Hi! Your work is fantastic and I'd love to create a tipi to my baby but could you please put the measurements in cm… It would be very nice! Thank you!
you can easily make the conversions yourself.
Just multiply inches by 2.54 to get cm
inches x 2.54 = cm
Question: is the 3 1/2 inch measurement for the top of the panel correct? It seems so small as I am measuring out the first panel. This is my very first sewing project and I just want to make sure I do it right!
Yes. You will need to add seam allowances to that
WOW WOW WOW!!!! You have just saved me a small forture!!! I've been looking for a pattern for so long and then found a new page on facebook who were selling their pattern for £30, or the finished Teepee for £135. I was going to pay it as i thought i wouldn't have the time to do it myself, but now i know i could do this in a day, with no kiddies is wonderful!!! Thank you so much, maybe i will have my dinning table and chairs and quilts back once i make this instead of them being my 4 childrens den! Please take a look at my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/sewdelight xx
Thank you! Can't wait to get started, my daughter is going to love this wee escape from her little sister
I’m whipping one up for my daughter for Christmas… i cant wait, i hope she loves it as much as i will
Hey! Firstly can i say…what a lovely blog
then i was hoping you could answers a few questions. when you come to sew each section together the first seam runs along the pole loop right and then you fold the fabric back and actually sew the loop..gosh hope that makes sense! Also, when do you hem each section i after you have completed the loops? Yes i am abit of a novice ahhh!!
Hi
This looks great but do you know if a king size or super king size duvet cover is big enough?
Thanks
Yes I think that should be fine. And remember you have both the front and back of the duvet cover available. If you are unsure just lay it out roughly before cutting.
Thanks so much for an awesome tutorial. I finally made one! I can’t seem to get my poles just right, resulting in some wonky side panels. Any tricks/tips?
Thanks!
I’m not sure Erin, maybe send me a picture so I can see what you mean?
Thank you so much for sharing!!!! I can’t wait to make this for my 2 children