DIY Dog Tent

You may wonder why I’m showing a tutorial on how to sew a DIY dog tent.  I could see where you may wonder because 1. I mostly do woodworking projects and 2. there are already a million tutorials on Pinterest for this.

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BUT, I have good reason (besides the fact it’s just so stinking cute!) so hear me out 🙂

1. Actually, despite the fact I primarily post about woodworking projects, one of my most popular posts is this DIY Grinch pillow tutorial, which is a super easy sewing project.

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2. Even though there are a million tent tutorials on Pinterest already, I couldn’t find a single one that would allow me to sew this striped fabric so that all the stripes would line up perfectly and wouldn’t bother my OCD.  So, if you want a super easy way to make a DIY dog tent with striped (or any patterned) fabric so that it will all line up correctly, I’ve got you covered 🙂

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Oh and by the way, I’m the worlds worst with a sewing machine, so if you are intimidated, trust me…if I can do it you can too.  Plus, it’s for the dog, so it doesn’t have to be perfect, right? 😉

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This post contains affiliate links.  Please see disclosure policy for details.

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For this project you’ll need:

2 yards of tent teepee fabric

1 yard of pillow fabric (optional)

Thin pillow or batting

(4) ¾″ dowel rods 32″ long

Fabric scissors

Measuring tape

Thread

Pins

Sewing Machine (you don’t need anything fancy, it just makes sewing much faster)

Jute string

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Oh, and just in case you’d like a large worktable to sew on like I’ve got in these pictures, check out how to build this rolling craft table here 🙂

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Step 1: Cut DIY Dog Tent Teepee Panels

Cut 4 pieces of fabric like shown from your tent teepee fabric.  If you’re using striped or patterned fabric, make sure to cut so that all the stripes will line up.

Take one panel and fold in half (right sides together) like shown.  Pin 2″ from the edge of the fabric.  Trace out with a pencil or pen an opening for the front like shown.  You can draw the opening as large as you want, but make sure not to go past the pins 2″ from the edge.

Now, cut along the line.

Step 2: Hem the DIY Dog Tent Teepee Fabric Panels

Cut a strip of fabric from the tent panel fabric scraps and use it to hem along the opening for the door.  Also hem along the bottom and top of the panel.

Also hem along the top and bottom of the other three panels.

Step 3: Stitch Together the DIY Dog Tent Panels

Place one regular panel on top of the front panel with right sides together and pin along one edge making sure the stripes line up.

Stitch along this pinned edge. Make sure the stripes stay lined up just right as you are sewing.  PS side note: There is absolutely no doubt that I am my father’s child…we literally have identical looking man hands.  Of all the things I wanted to inherit, I got Dad’s hands…awesome. HAHA

Continue around stitching the other two panels the same way.

Once you have all four panels sewn up, you are almost done!!

Step 4: Sew Up DIY Dog Tent Dowel Rod Slots

Cut (if not already the correct size) ¾″ dowel rods to about 32″ long.  PS, you can’t cut these with scissors….even though the scissors are in the picture haha.

Place a rod along one of the seams and pin.  Make sure the seam is centered on the OUTSIDE of the dowel rod.  You want equal sized pieces of each panel wrapped around the rod .

Remove the rod, then stitch along the pinned line.  Do this on all four seams.

Step 5:  Tie DIY Dog Tent Rods Together

Slip the rods into the slots you just stitched in step 4 and use jute twine to tie them together.  I honestly have no idea if there is a right or wrong way to do this, but I just wrapped around and around and through and around again.  There was no pattern.  Once it kind of stays in place, tie it off and cut the string.

Step 6: Sew a Pillow for the DIY Dog Tent

This part is optional, but I wanted a thin little pillow to place inside the tent.  I used a different fabric and stitched up a simple envelope style pillow cover 18×18 inches.  You can find a simple envelope pillow cover tutorial here.  You can stuff this with a thin pillow form, stuffing, or do what I did and use a few layers of batting.  I just cut two pieces of batting 18×18 and stuffed inside.  Easy peesy 🙂

Now, just add a dog and you’re done 🙂

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This is Rufus, my oldest doggie nephew.  He’s the most photogenic dog I’ve ever seen.  He just poses, doesn’t move, and looks cute 🙂

See how in the picture below the stripes line up perfect all the way around the corners??  All the tutorials I found had you wrap the fabric around the poles separately and (the math nerd within me knows) that means that mathematically, the stripes will not be equal widths all the way up on the sides vs on the poles, so they will not line up.  Sewing it this way makes certain that the stripes are even around the entire tent.  And that’s good for the math nerdiness and the OCD haha.

Isn’t little Roo cute in his new doggie tent??

If you like to incorporate some fabric and sewing into your building here and there (like me!), be sure to go check out how I built and upholstered a couch for Danny’s man cave in this post.  Don’t be afraid of the sewing machine!  It can really add a lot to some of your building projects 😉

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So what do you think about this little project??  Would you give it a try??  I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

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And I’d also love it if you’d pin this for later 🙂

Until next time, happy DIYing! 🙂