Ladies, have I got a fun little project for you! In my house, we are always making little tents. My 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 dreamy 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!
Make Your Own Dreamy Canopy Tent
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 dreamy 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!
How to Assemble Your Dreamy Canopy Tent
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 dreamy canopy 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!
Nicolette says
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!
gina says
Cute and easy! I love it!
Missy says
Brilliant using curtains – no sewing..I like that! Your pictures are so gorgeous.
Alison says
Super cute! I love it!
Sherron says
This is wonderful! I now know what I am making for my little girl for Christmas! Thank you for sharing this project!
danielle says
I love this. My toddler will love this. Thanks!
Shelley says
The twins will LOVE This. Yep. We are sooo doing this.
Stephanie says
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!
Megan says
Thanks for sharing such a great tutorial. It looks beautiful in this room. Enjoy!
Sue I says
Simply beautiful! thank you for sharing.
Stacey says
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!!!
jenni says
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?
Patricia says
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,
Amy says
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?
Deb says
Love the canopy tent! My kids will love this.
Iiona says
I love this and will be trying it in the next few weeks
Nadine says
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
Samantha says
I love this! Can not wait to make one for my daughter. I’m wondering if you put something other than ribbon at the top? The picture I saw on the page before this, looks like there is tulle or something on top.
Erin says
Lara, I love this! I am halfway through making mine and I wanted to ask you before I cut the ribbons….how tall are your ceilings? I think maybe mine are a little shorter, because it looks like I need to hang it pretty close to the ceiling. Thanks for sharing your creativity!
Claudia says
Thank you for sharing this! I just finished doing it and hanging in my daughter’s bedroom on her bed
Haley says
I love the idea…will have to try! But can you use a hula hoop instead???
Ami says
Thats exactly what i was thinking! Its much less expensive and will offer a larger diameter inwhich the kids can play or even encompass your bed. Even though this was presented as an item for kids, ive seen this and various hanging methods over adult bed accompanied with strings of clear Christmas lights behind creating a soothing mystical look of stars. Beautiful! Also to cut costs i used 6 -12ft long sheers i found at a thrift store all for $3.85! I sewed two sheers together to create 3- 24ft sheers with the xmas lights and decided on a flowy vertical method to create a different look! Shame this site doesn’t offer a way to add pictures with your replies. I think it would get positive feedback. Just a thought!
Lisa @ Charlie The Cavalier says
I was going try this with the same curtains! The small hook fell down the first time so I will try a new one. Thanks for the help.
sara says
I really love this. It sounds so simple to do. I am going to do this for my daughter. Just wondering if you have or anyone else have tried this with lights?
Danielle says
Did this with a small hula hoop & fun fabric shower curtain/rings 🙂
Elaine Brown says
Hi, I used your tutorial and one for making the canopy tent with a hula hoop. I actually used 5 curtain panels, then to hang the tent, I used 2 spools of Grosgrain ribbon 1 1/2″ wide by 9 feet long. I then put one piece between the panels from left to right, then the second spool from front to back. This allowed me to adjust the length to the floor and it worked out perfectly. Thanks for you tutorial:)
Ohio mom says
Thanks so much for the great idea and fabulous (easy-to-follow) instructions. I purchased the materials yesterday and got the canopy made and hung today! Fastest craft project I’ve ever done, thanks to you! My daughter loves it, it looks beautiful draped around the outside of her bed (keeps out the “monsters” ;-)), and it was such a snap to put together. I wrapped the hoops with white satin ribbon before putting the curtains on and it looks polished as well as ensured the curtains didn’t snag on the wooden hoop. Thanks again for sharing your great idea and inspiring a “not-so-crafty” mom to go for it!
Susan says
This is by far the simplest tutorial I’ve seen for a canopy tent project…and it’s beautiful too! Doing this one asap. Thanks!
Naomi says
I love you tutorial. I am trying to make one for my daughters bedroom and I just have a quick question. Would your tutorial size hoop allow the curtain to drape over a full size bed if I hung the hoop directly above from the middle? Thank you for your time and advice.
Momma Colón
Darlene says
Thank you so very much.
Going to try and make this tent this weekend
Erin says
Hiw tall are your ceilings? Trying to judge the length of curtain I will need with my shorter basement ceilings. Don’t want too much excess on the floor.
Patti says
love this tutorial. Will make this for my granddaughter!! Blessings to you
Erin says
I made this tonight as a Christmas gift for my 2yo daughter. I highly recommend you lightly sand the entire ring before threading on the curtains. The ring I used was very rough and snagged the material. Also, upon completion I re-inserted the inner ring of the embroidery hoop set before fully tightening the outer ring closed. This made the structure far more stable, less flimsy. Not sure why this tutorial omits any mention of the inner ring.
Melanie says
Wonderfully written tutorial and your photos are great. Thank you for posting it!
Just one thing – why on earth would everyone need a handyman to put up a hook? Surely in this day and age, anyone could find the wherewithal to turn a hook into a ceiling (or drill a hole and use an anchor, if necessary). Please don’t perpetuate the stereotype that females are that helpless.
Kseniya says
How big was your embroidery hoop? Is 23” big enough?
Xristina says
This is great, thank you! Think it could work in a double bed? Why not 4 or 5 curtains?
Karls says
Hi i love your idea, where did you buy the hoop?
La Tanya Marie says
Out of all the tutorials I’ve read so far on this project I must say that yours is the best! Yes…this one is the best..very straight forward to the point very clear and easy steps. Thank you so much for sharing and your photos of your kids are adorable! This is one out of a few of my next projects for my daughter’s room.
Priya says
Love this tutorial! I can’t seem to find a 23inch hoop anywhere! The largest I can find is 23cm…where did everyone find theirs??
embroidery digitizing tipsntricks says
This post shows that you have quite nice embroidery sense
Arielle says
Thanks for the tutorial. I am looking to make one of these in a couple of weeks for my little girl’s bday. I love the ribbon and the flowy look.