Sophie's Tent

My dear Sophie turned two a few weeks ago, which was celebrated with much gusto. 2nd birthdays are considerably more fun, in my opinion, because the child can actually participate and understand the situation. Perhaps not fully yet, but certainly a great deal more than a one year old. Sophie was quick to understand that "birthday" meant cake and friends. She also had much fun opening presents. Maybe she's yet to grasp the fact that an entire year of her life has passed and thus is the reason for this celebration, but that's small potatoes compared to the other stuff right?

The birthday present for this year was a tent. I've made these before (one for Sophie's cousin Cooper (here and here) and also for her friends Sam and Jimmy (here)) so it was an easy and quick thing to make this one. They really are fun. Sophie likes to put her stuffed toys in hers. And also play peek a boo. One day I'm hoping that she also likes to just lie down and read in there too (which is what my tent activity of choice would be).

The outer fabric was from my mum (a Spotlight bargain apparently) and I lined it with some sheer material that had a silver star print on it (also from mum funnily enough, but a hand-me-down one). So glad I did actually, because Sophie is all about stars at the moment. Here is Rachel completing a structural check before allowing tent entry. 

I again, drilled all of those holes myself and varnished the wood. Steve stapled some ribbon onto the top of the tent poles to stop them from slipping outwards on the wooden floors (good work Steve! Sorry I don't have a photo of your good work.) The top has a few rubber bands on the dowels to stop things slipping off (another good call Steve). 

Different to the previous two tents, I actually bought two extra pieces of dowel and put them down the bottoms to help things stay straight. It helped immensely with keeping the tent fabric from sagging in on people's heads. I feel a little bad for not having done that with the other two, but in my defence, I didn't know how it would all work as an inside tent (and outside it's not really a problem because the grass keeps the legs stable). 

I strung some battery powered star lights along the top beam of the tent, which Sophie loves. Hooray! What a great handmade birthday present. :D