(Really) easy fabric canopy in 4 steps!featured
The fabric canopy:
This canopy has got to be one of my favorite methods of corralling stuff.
This canopy has got to be one of my easiest methods of corralling stuff.
The best part? You probably have everything you need just hanging around to finish this project in no time flat.
It requires:
Any square piece of fabric that’s thin enough to be knotted at the ends. XL tee shirts from that guy whose last name you can’t even recall? Hippie wall hanging you *cough* thought was incredibly spiritual in college? Finally, you can make these things useful.
Three nails.
A hammer.
A grouping of lightish-weight toys, balls, and even rolled towels or bathroom supplies. (And if you tell me you don’t have a random pile of almost-favorite stuffed animals beside your kid’s bed, well, then I’m gonna call your bluff.)
Here’s how it works:
Find a bare corner that could hold a fabric canopy. (Pro tip: Make it high enough that folks aren’t encouraged to use it as a swing. All part of the service, folks!)
If it isn’t already, cut the fabric into a square. Precision is not the name of the game on this one. You’re welcome!
Fold one half of the square down and flatten out the triangle you’ve just formed. Tie a big knot in the corner of each triangle point. Here’s where any uneven fabric gets dealt with: if it’s not a smooth triangle side- and if you care about such things- fold or roll up that side until it’s a line you dig. Pretend you’re cuffing or pegging your pants in the early ’90s. (Did I just date myself? Ironically, in the early ’90s, no one would date me.)
Hold the triangle into the corner you’re planning to canopy. Pull it taut and eyeball where you’d like it to hang. (Don’t you just love really forgiving projects?) Hammer a nail through each knot and into the wall’s corner. (I like to angle the actual corner nail slightly lower, so if any heavier items cause a lot of sagging of the canopy, it’ll still hang nicely.)
And then…arrange that action!
I love this toy sitch so much that each of my kid has one next to their bed. Nora, in a top bunk, has two: one tiny one by her ceiling corner and a bigger one on the outside of her bed. As Susannah has pointed out, “now nothing’s in the way of me making my bed!”
(In theory.)
And now, another Speed Clean video, wherein I put my money where my mouth is (and the plethora of puppies where the fabric is):
Questions? Accolades? Requests for future projects?
Comment below!
