- 5 round wooden sticks (1.8m high)
wool yarn
- solid fabric of your choice (about 3.6m)
- lining material for the tent entrance (1.5m)
- color matching sewing thread
cord (2.4m)
- bias binding (3.2m)
Scissors
tape measure
- pins
- Chalk for marking
buttons, appliqués, patches etc. For decoration (as desired)
Sewing teepee – how does it work?
First, you should cut 6 equal trapezoidal parts – five times from the outer and once from the inner fabric. The bases of each harness are 19cm and 103cm in length, and the height is about 144cm. First, cut out a piece of fabric according to the given measures and use it as a pattern for the remaining five pieces. When you’re done, you’ll have to sew all the edges of the fabric. Start with the five pieces you cut from the outer fabric and seam them by folding the upper and lower edges 2cm apart. Now place the fifth outer side and the inner right side from the right side and sew 2cm away from the lower and upper edge. Finally, apply the fabric and iron the seams.
Sew Tipi – Instructions step by step
Now you should sew all the pieces together and make the tent opening. Start by folding the double-stitched tent side in the middle. Measure 105cm from the bottom edge and mark the spot with chalk. Cut to the mark and fix the resulting tent opening with pins, so that the fabric does not slip. Next, you should poke the bias binding around the opening – starting from the bottom. Also attach right and left (about 50cm high) a cord, which is 60cm long. The cord should point to the inside. Then sew the bias binding. Now you can already sew the tent pieces together. Place them left to left for this purpose – the tent opening should be penultimate.
Sew the tipi – assemble the finished tent
You are done with sewing already? Then proceed in the described way: Lay all parts right to right and fold them. Then iron the fabric. Measure now 4.5cm from the fold, and sew a Gerdstich there using the sewing machine. It is important that at the left and right sides of the opening at a height of 50cm from the bottom edge on each side sew a 60cm long drawstring. So you get at the end of the four openings, which will later be the wooden sticks. Then you should sew the last open side together – just like the others. Now start preparing the wooden sticks by wrapping them well with wool yarn at the top, creating a pyramidal construction. For more stability you can also connect the bars with copper fittings from the sanitary department. Carefully push the wooden sticks into the openings of the tent. Already finished!
Design teepees without sewing
The above idea for a self-sewn teepee is good, but if you can not handle the sewing machine well, you are certainly looking for an alternative. And designing a tent without stitching is really super easy – just make the above described pyramidal construction out of wooden sticks and then attach only the fabric of your choice with screws or with the hand tacker to the wooden frame. Now make an opening for the entrance and you’re done!
