How to Make a Tent Playhouse Under a Loft Bed
Bedtime can be a trying time for parents, but making the young ones' bed into something more exciting can help convince children to go to sleep when the time comes. The large amount of empty space beneath loft beds can be ideal for this purpose as, with the addition of a quilt along with some modifications, it turns into an exciting playhouse or fort in the middle of your child's bedroom. This added element will turn bedtime into a less traumatic experience for both child and parent. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Old quilt
- 1.5 inch diameter wooden dowel
- Coping saw
- Fabric knife
- Cable ties
- Roll of velcro strip
- Measuring tape
- Chalk
Instructions
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1
Measure the width of the opening beneath the loft bed and add 8 inches. This is how wide your quilt will need to be. Measure the distance from the ground to the top of the opening and then from the opening to the rail on the opposite side of the loft bed. Add these measurements together and add 8 inches. This is the length the quilt needs to be.
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2
Draw a rectangle on the quilt using these measurements and cut it out with the carpet knife. Fold over the raw edges of the freshly cut quilt by ¼ inch and sew a hem around the edge of the quilt on each side except one of the shortest sides. Measure halfway across the remaining raw edge and make a mark at this point with the chalk.
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3
Cut vertically upwards from the chalk mark to a point roughly two thirds of the way between the floor and the top of the opening. Sew another hem up both sides of this cut. This is doorway for the tent. Sew two narrow strips of Velcro -- one near the bottom of the cut part of the quilt and one near the top -- making sure that the matching pairs of Velcro strip line up. Sew more Velcro strips into the sides of the quilt, at the same level as the two strips you have just sewn in and then two more into the sides of the quilt just below the level of the top of the opening.
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4
Pull the quilt tight across the opening and mark where the Velcro strips touch the frame of the loft bed. Use super glue to attach the other components of the Velcro pairs to the bed frame in these positions. These should line up and hold the quilt in place when the tent is set up. Remove the mattress from the bed and lay the quilt across the bed frame so that the top of the quilt touches the frame of the bed on the other side and the bottom of the quilt touches the floor at the bottom of the opening of the loft bed. A few inches of the quilt should drag on the floor.
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5
Make six holes at equal intervals along the top edge of the quilt and attach it to the rail at the other side of the bed with cable ties. Cut the 1.5-inch diameter dowel into two lengths, each equal to half the width of the quilt. Lay the dowel lengths against the lower edge of the quilt. Roll the lower edges of the quilt over and sew a seam, trapping the piece of dowel in the rolled-up quilt. This should allow the bottom of the quilt to touch the floor. The two pieces of dowel act as weights for the tent, keeping it pulled tight.
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