Play/Reading Tent

Okay, so several of you have asked about the tent that I made for Aubrey.  Here's the tutorial I looked at to get my ideas together.  I also have a sewing pattern that I used for reference, but both the tutorial and the pattern were way more complicated than necessary, so I thought I would explain as simply as possible how to make one of these tents. (Note: my tent is a SIMPLIFIED version of what is shown on the tutorial.  I did not add windows or pockets or anything else.  Mine is similar to the FIRST picture in the tutorial, minus the pockets, and that was because I didn't want to encourage Aubrey to pull on the tent in any way, as it is attached to our ceiling.)

Materials:
sewing machine (I'm assuming you already knew that)
two coordinating twin size flat sheets
hula hoop (the bigger, the better... 36" or 38" is good)
a bunch of ribbon, some narrow (an inch or less) some wide... you probably want to buy the whole spool, not by the yard  (check the tutorial if you want more specific measurements)
*don't forget thread for your machine

Instructions:
I am going to say this as simply as I can, rather than in real step-by-step format.  (Read this, then look at the tutorial link above.)  The basic idea is you will use the long side of one sheet to circle the hula hoop.  However, one sheet by itself is not long enough, so you have to use some of the other sheet to lengthen it.  Depending on the size of the hula hoop you get, the length that you add will be different.  I used a 36" hula hoop, so I needed to add 20" onto my sheet.  I'll refer to this length so you can understand what I'm talking about, but be sure to measure your hula hoop first before you cut anything.  First of all, whatever length you need to add, you will split it in half and add one part to one end of the sheet and the other part to the other end.  This is so you will have matching "ends" that will become the doors or opening part of your tent.  So for mine, I cut two 10" pieces and added one to each end of the whole sheet.  (Note: This length made my tent doors meet, but you could also do a few extra inches to make the doors overlap a bit at the top of the opening.  This would probably look a bit nicer.)

Don't you love my amazing illustrations?

BEFORE YOU SEW THEM TOGETHER, you will want to plan out where to add some ribbon to make the tie-backs for your tent doors.  Pick a side of your sheet that will ultimately be the top of the tent (where it will connect around the hula hoop).  Measure about 20" down from that side on each end of the sheet and make a little mark. You will add the ribbon at this mark WHILE you are sewing the two parts of the sheet together.  I used 80" of ribbon for each side.  Find the mid-point and put it in between the two pieces of sheet that you are about to sew together, so when you finish you will have 40" hanging out on the front and on the back of the fabric.  (Be sure to repeat on the other end of the sheet.)

After you have added the two additional pieces to the length of your sheet (with the ribbon included in the seam), you should have basically the right length to circle your hoop.  In case this statement isn't obvious, you will also want to hem your new ends.  Depending on how you did your cuts, you may only have one side that needs to be hemmed... you probably used the existing hem of the sheet on the other side.  After hemming, take a nice, deep breath!  The "wall" of your tent is complete! 

This is what the tie-backs will look like when in use.

Now for the top:

Okay, the concept is you will cut several identical triangles (well, not technically triangles, as one edge has a slight curve) and attach them all together to make a circle/cone shape for the top of your tent.  PLEASE FOLLOW THE TUTORIAL ON HOW TO CUT OUT THE TRIANGLES!  Just remember to consider the size of hoop you have.  After you have your triangles cut out (mine had six, but I'm not sure if that's always true), sew HALF of them together to make one half of the circle.  Sew the other half of the triangles together to make the other half of the circle.  Now attach some of the narrower ribbon in the center of one half, so that you can hang the tent from the ceiling when you are done.  The ribbon will be folded in half, with the fold sticking out a bit on the inside of the tent (or the "wrong" side of your fabric).  This makes a little loop inside the tent where you could hang something cute, if you wanted.  The long ends will hang outside of the tent at the very top.  (More on how to hang it in a minute.)  Okay, sew the two halves of your circle together, making sure to keep the ribbon in the right place. 

Now you need a way to attach the circle to the hoop.  More ribbon.  Make four strips of ribbon (long enough that you can comfortably tie each one around the hoop, with an inch or two extra for sewing).  Put a mark in four evenly spaced locations on the circle where you will attach the ribbon.  At each of these marks, you will take one piece of ribbon, fold it in half, and (similar to the ribbon in the center of the circle) the folded part will stick out one side of the fabric (the "right" side, or the outside of the tent) while the two ends of the ribbon will stick out the other side (the "wrong" side, or the inside of the tent).  Pin each of the ribbons in place.

This shows how the four ribbons will be used to attach the hoop.  One of mine happens to show where the door opening is.  If you don't want yours to show, don't center it at the door.  But you can see here there is a little tab or loop that sticks out the top of the tent, and the loose ends are on the inside where they will tie on to the hoop.

Now comes the (almost) final step: attach the "wall" to the top.  Pin first (if you wish), then sew the length of the sheet around the circle.  Make sure the four ribbons stay in the right place (loops to the outside, loose ends to the inside of the tent).  When you come to the end of your sheet, it should match up with where you started on the other end so that you have completely encircled the top of the tent. 

Actual final step: tie the hula hoop on the inside using the four ribbons, then hang tent from ceiling. 

A note on hanging: a medium to large cup hook in your ceiling works great with minimal damage (meaning only a screw hole).  A dry-wall anchor is a good idea to use to keep it from pulling out.  I tried a small hook in the ceiling first, but the screw part isn't big enough to hold a lot of weight and it pulled out of the ceiling within a day or two.  Also, I wanted to be able to take my tent down easily WITHOUT having to use a step ladder to reach the ceiling.  To make this possible, I made a completely separate loop of ribbon and hung it from the cup hook.  Then on the ribbon that is actually attached to the tent, I added Velcro instead of tying a loop.  Now I can attach the Velcro loop through the loop that is hanging from the ceiling, and it is at a height that allows me to reach it.  (I didn't mention any measurements here because all of this depends on your ceiling height, as well as your own height!) 

I hope this made a little bit of sense and that my super-basic diagrams helped you to understand what the heck is going on.  As I mentioned, please read through the actual tutorial that I linked to at the top of this post.  She describes all of the steps with much greater detail.  I just found myself having to read hers multiple times before I understood what she was talking about, so hopefully what I have written will help you save some time there.  Let me know if you need clarification!  Happy sewing!