How to Design a Removable Canopy for a Bed

Give your room some fantasy appeal with a hula hoop and some sheer fabric.

A bed canopy adds a feeling of romance and fantasy to any bed, but you may not be sure that you want a permanent structure for your canopy. Whether you are hesitant to spend money on a permanent canopy bed or you are making the canopy for a child whose tastes change regularly, design a removable canopy instead. A removable canopy made from a hula hoop and long swathes of sheer fabric give any room an ethereal, bohemian quality. This project requires a small amount of sewing knowledge.

Things You'll Need

• Measuring tape
• Fabric
• Scissors
• Needle
• Hula-hoop
• Utility knife
• Tape
• Ribbons
• Cup hook

Instructions

1. Measure the distance from the floor to the ceiling.

2. Cut four lengths of 36-inch wide sheer fabric that are equal to the measurement you found in Step 1.

3. Hem three sides of the these rectangles with needle and thread, leaving one short side unfinished. If the fabric does not fray, you do not need to do this.

4. Fold down the raw edge, creating a fold that is 3 inches deep and sew the fold shut with needle and thread. This creates a tube across the top of each panel.

5. Cut the ends of a hula-hoop apart using a utility knife.

6. String the fabric panels onto the hula hoop, spreading them around the hoop evenly.

7. Close the hula hoop using tape.

8. Measure across the diameter of the hula hoop and cut four lengths of ribbon that are equal to that measurement.

9. Tie the end of each ribbon to the hula hoop between the panels of fabric.

10. Tie the loose ends of the ribbons together. At this point, the hoop holding the fabric is suspended levelly from four ribbons which are tied together.

11. Screw a cup hook into the ceiling above the center of the bed using your fingers.

12. Hang the cluster of ribbons on to the cup hook, allowing the fabric to drape down.

13. Arrange the fabric around the bed, draping it over the edge of the bed and allowing it to hang to the floor.

References

• Family Fun: Cool Canopy