Directions

You will need:
3 yards of heavy weight fabric – You can even find cute fabric on Amazon
Four 1” x 2” x 48” whitewood moulding
Three 3/4” x 48” poplar dowel
Drill with a 3/4” spade bit
Sewing Supplies

For the Frame:Building the frame only requires drilling eight holes. Measure six inches from the top of each board and mark the spot with a line using your pencil. Place the point of your 3/4 inch drill bit on the center of the line and drill a hole. Turn the boards over and measure 1.5 inches up from the bottom. Draw a line with a pencil. Drill a hole in each board using a 3/4 inch drill bit. That is all you need to do! The frame is ready.

Building the Frame

Build the frame by making an A-frame on each end of the tent with two wooden boards. Then, place the wooden dowels through the holes.

For the Cover: The cover is simple. If your fabric is about 44 inches wide already, you will NOT need to cut anything off the width. If your fabric is 60 inches wide, you will want to take about 16 inches off of the entire width of the fabric piece. This remaining scrap of fabric can be used later to create a carrying case! Turn the raw edge over about 1/4 inch and sew. If you didn’t have to cut your fabric, you really don’t even need to bother with this step.

Next, fold the top end of your fabric under about 3 inches. This is going to make the “pocket” that the wooden dowel will slide through. Sew across the folded seam. Place your first pocket on the dowel and stretch the fabric up over the center dowel and down towards the third dowel. You will see the tent shape form. Pull the fabric so it is very tight and pin along where your second pocket will be.

It’s Easy as That

I have made several tent covers and have found that the tent is not necessarily square. Do not cut the fabric unless you have tested it on the tent and are certain that it will fit all the way across the dowel. Pin the fabric in place, sew along your pinned line, then cut the excess fabric away from the back. It’s as easy as that!

For the Bag: If you had 60 inch fabric and want to utilize the extra piece you cut off earlier in the process, you can make a carrying bag for the tent. Fold the fabric in half with the right sides together so it forms a long thin tube. Sew along both sides. Turn the bag right side out. To finish the top, fold the top edge under about 2 inches. Sew it into place. Tie the top closed with a ribbon, rope, or twine.

Enjoy your day at the beach with your homemade beach tent!

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