A Dreamy Canopy Tent
October 3, 2012 by Lara
Ladies, have I got a fun little project for you! In my house, we are always making little tents. Mmy kids love nothing more than throwing some blankets over the table, or stringing a line, and hanging a sheet over it. They could be content for hours playing in a tent. I decided it was high time I made them a cute tent that would be easy to put up and take down with a little help from mommy. This beautiful canopy tent only requires 3 items to make.. and it will probably take you about 10 minutes to whip it out!! It is dreamy and oh so cute! My little family is in love with it already!
Here is what you will need:
3 packages of cheap curtains
1 spool of ribbon (you may need 2 if you want to hang it longer)
1 huge embroidery hoop
The supplies details:
Okay, so for mine, I used an off-white ribbon that was 1 1/2 inches by 12 feet. I picked it up from a local craft store. If you want to hang your canopy tent a little lower you may want to buy 2 spools as I used one entire spool for mine! I also got my embroidery hoop from a local craft store. It is a 23 inch hoop, and I think it is just the right size! The curtains I used are the IKEA LILL white curtains. They are a really lightweight mesh fabric. They are so perfect for this project. If you have an IKEA near you, this is a perfect option. You can also search eBay or Amazon to see if you can find them there. If not, you can choose any light weight curtain with a casing along the top! These curtains are 110″ wide by 98″ tall. Each package comes with 2 panels, so total you will have 6 (110″ x 98″) curtains! make sense? Okay.. moving on!
Take the hoop piece completely apart and put the hardware pieces somewhere you won’t lose them!
Slide a small plastic bag over the end of the open hoop (put the end in the center of the bag, the corners of the bag catch on the fabric) then twist the ends of the bag around the arm of the hoop.
Begin sliding the curtain fabric onto the hoop, the plastic will help it glide on smoothly. Make sure the casing seam, along the top of the curtains, is facing the inside of the hoop.
Slide all 6 panels onto the hoop, and it should look something like this! Then remove the plastic bag.
Now take the hardware you removed from the hoop in the beginning and screw the hoop back together. Clamp the two ends tightly together, then slide the curtains over the closing. Make sure the curtains are evenly distributed around the hoop.
Cut 3 pieces of ribbon. I cut mine about 4 feet long, but if you want your hoop hanging farther from the ceiling then cut the ribbon longer. Then spread the curtains and loop the ribbon around the hoop.
You will place one ribbon every 2 curtain panels, that way the curtains will be even on every side. Fold the ribbon in half around the hoop and make all the ends meet at the top where it will hang.
Tie them in a knot like so….
Then remove any tags from the curtains, you can do this in the beginning if you would prefer 
Have your handyman hang a hook from the ceiling in a secure place. You can find hooks at most home equipment stores and they are very simple to install.
Hang the knot over the hook and then spread two of the curtain panels to create a door! Add some fun touches like pillows and stuffed animals, and your tent is all ready!
It is basically heaven to watch them play!
If you want to take it down when you are done playing, it is really simple: twist the curtains together and swing them around the top under the ribbon. You can throw them in a bag or store it just like this!
Simple, fun and absolutely beautiful!
I hope you and your little ones enjoy!
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Oh, I absolutely love it! My kids LOVE tents too and it drives me crazy to have the blankets constantly strewn all over. What a perfect solution!
Cute and easy! I love it!
Brilliant using curtains – no sewing..I like that! Your pictures are so gorgeous.
Super cute! I love it!
This is wonderful! I now know what I am making for my little girl for Christmas! Thank you for sharing this project!
I love this. My toddler will love this. Thanks!
The twins will LOVE This. Yep. We are sooo doing this.
I actually have some of thos IKEA curtain panels and have been mulling over how to begin this for my daughter’s room – so the post is perfect timing for me! Thank you!
Thanks for sharing such a great tutorial. It looks beautiful in this room. Enjoy!
Simply beautiful! thank you for sharing.
I am DYING! I need to make one of these for my daughter’s birthday party that is in 4 days and I thought I would have to buy a bunch of mesh and a hula hoop and sew it on! Seriously, this is the best tutorial ever for this! I LOVE it and it is beautiful and dreamy! Thank you!!!
this is soooooo awesome. thanks for teaching me. i’m a grandma (mimi) and i want to do this for some future grands down the road. i recently saw the movie, “the holiday” with jude law and jack black, kate winslet and cameron diaz. at the end of the movie at jude law’s character’s house, he has rigged up a tent that just blows my mind. I want one of those. your tent reminded me of it. i might have to rig one up for myself to enjoy. why not?
Hi,
Love it!!! Where did you get the little white table? Is is so cute and I need to get one for my daughter.
Thanks,
I did this exact same project with those IKEA curtains (and I have the chandelier too!) I loved your idea of using a plastic baggie to avoid the snags. Mine is not up right now because I used a screw in hook and my daughter pulled it down. So I’m wondering what kind of hook you used. Is there something more secure that I could attach to the ceiling?
Love the canopy tent! My kids will love this.
I love this and will be trying it in the next few weeks
I will be using this idea to put above the head of my daughters bed with pink curtains to match the bed. I’ve been looking for something like this for ages so thank you laura