DIY Tent For Camping (Do It Yourself): 2 Easy Ways

42 Million Americans,
Yes, 14% of the U.S population, go camping with each other. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of camping outdoors? Sleeping in sleeping bags, tents, campfire, barbeque maybe. Yes, the basic and primary idea of camping is living in a tent. Every camper should at least experience tent camping once in their lives.

It is undoubtedly very important to choose the right size and shape of the tent for you or your family to ensure there is no overcrowding in the tent, to ensure the tent does not fly away even in the slightest winds. There are a ton of tents available in markets, but we know how difficult is it to find ‘the perfect’ tent for you.

Well, what about building/stitching your tent? It is possible.

We will tell you why every tent camper needs to keep reading this article. Not everything goes as per our planning, what if the tent ripped off very badly and it is beyond repair, and you certainly do not have time, energy, fuel, and money to buy the same new tent at the moment.

What if you want to add something of your interest or something more comfortable to you to your tent. Or maybe you just want to see how creative you can get with your camping tent ideas?

Let’s get started, shall we?

Ways To DIY Tent For Camping

It can be a very tricky job to build a tent of own, but let’s just say there is always a first time to something. Some people even find it difficult to set up a readymade tent, at least we are more skilled than those fraction of people.

DIY tents mean setting up or stitching it from scratch. As difficult as it sounds, it is effortless with our guide.

1. DIY Tent Using A Tarp

You will require basic camping gear and a toolbox with you to set up this type of DIY tent in just 6 steps.

Step 1: get the tarp ready

• Lay the tarp on the ground properly.
• Make holes that can be used to attach the ropes to the ground later.
• Tarps are very important to set up because it will provide you with insulation from the weather outside.
• Make sure the holes are small and not too big, to ensure the ropes fit the holes well, too big holes will give an easy way for insects and cold wind to enter your tent.

Step 2: Choose a location for the tent and lay the center post

• It is very mandatory to choose an appropriate place for setting your camp, since, you are making it from scratch and you will have to take care of the ground beneath the tent, and several other factors.
• You would be looking for a plain ground to lay your tent.
• You will be required to install a center post for your tent, so make sure the ground is not too rocky, sandy, or brittle.
• A strong center post will decide how long your tent can stand.
• The center post should be able to handle the weight and tension of the tarp fabric.
• You should also consider laying some of the other carpet or other tarps on the ground.
• Ground insulation is important as it will save you from the moisture from the soil and maybe some insects like ants.
• The center post is going to be the highest point of the tent.

Step 3: Hold the tarp on the center post

• This is the most crucial step of all as you should be able to coincide the center of the tarp on the top of the center post.
• This is important so that the weight of the tarp gets distributed evenly on the post.
• Also necessary to ensure the right shape of your tent.
• Ensure the center post is fixed properly on the ground.
• Don’t fix the ends before the center, as it can mess the center of mass of your tent and the balance of the post.

Step 4: Secure the corners

• Stretch the tarp such that it is laid down from the center pole with all its corners facing diagonally opposite.
• You will be deciding the shape of your tent in this step.
• Ensuring the shape and also space inside the tent is up to you, how much you want to stretch the tarp.
• We would be making a shape similar to the Egyptian pyramids of our tent.
• Secure the corners by tying them with ropes with solid rigid support on the ground.
• You can install small wooden supports for your rigid support.

Step 5: Build a strong base.

• When you are making a tent, make sure that you need to take care of that it built strong.
• Make sure the small holes on the sides are well driven into the ground.
• Make use of a hammer while installing the wooden rigid supports instead of a stone.
• Make sure that both tarp holes are properly aligned at each corner so you can stay warm while camping without a worry of wind escaping inside the tent.
• You can keep stones on the sides of the tarp if the ground is not even or if the tarp is not aligned with the ground.

Step 6: Tie the ropes

• Just tie the ropes to the corners to the wooden rigid supports you installed before.
• You can also keep heavy stones along the sides of the tarp to make it rainproof.
• Make sure the ropes are tied properly so that strong winds cannot drive away your tent.
• Stones will help it stretch better and prevent the wind to enter the tent.
• Arrange your sleeping bag and other essentials to be kept inside the tent, you can make it as cozy as you want.

2. Stitch Your Customized Tent

We can also call it recycling old tents or you may buy the tent fabric and completely stitch it from scratch. The best part is you can just build the desired shape and design for your tent. You can build and customize the tent of your dreams!

There is a wide variety of tents available, but only you can incorporate every detail in your tent. Consider stitching your tent or at least design it and get it stitched by a tailor.

Some pros of stitching a tent:

• It is cheap compared to a shop-bought tent.
• If you decide to recycle an old tent of yours then it might as well be free of cost.
• It is durable because you build it.
• The quality of fabric and weight of the tent is also something you decide.
• Space and the level of ventilation in the tent is also something you decide.

Step 1- planning and material.

• You require to choose the right design and material for your tent.
• Keep all the requirements in your mind while designing and planning for your tent.
• The basis for your tent design should be on how many people you plan to accommodate in it, and whether or not you need to make it waterproof.
• Making a checklist for your requirements and then planning is the right way to go.
• The checklist would help you in deciding the amount of fabric you require and how many layers you want.
• Roughly doodle the design on a paper and get going after you take it on a graph paper.

Material

• Look for old cabin tents, they are big and rigid and provide more material for recycling.
• Choose a tent that can be used to cut out more and bigger pieces for your tent.
• Old tents can be found very cheap in old garages or recycling shops.
• Consider dyeing your tent fabric to fade away the color and then you can make the color to the color of your choice.
• Also, consider washing them once before cutting them for your use. Washing will get rid of all the dirt or previous fungus/bacteria that might be present in the tent.
• Once you are satisfied with the smell and the hygiene of the fabric start opening the seams of the tent.
• If you bought new fabric for the tent, then you can just skip all the steps mentioned above and get going with the further steps.

Measurements and stitching

• You just need to measure the pieces you planed in the design layout.
• Draw these measurements on the fabric and leave some extra fabric on all the sides that are to be stitched for extra seams and support.
• After you are done with the measurements and cutting and you just need them to put them together as per your plan.
• This all sounded very easy, right? It is easy but with these detailed and technique-rich steps mentioned here (enter link).

6 Factors To Take Care Of While Setting Tent

FAQs

Conclusion

I hope this article encouraged you enough to make your dreams of a perfect tent come true. It would be so nice to boast off your customized tent to your pals. You can also use this idea to make a gift tent for your camper friends.

If you have new ideas on how to make your tent or any new DIY for a camping tent, feel free to use the comment section below. We would love to hear your ideas.

Check out our other camping guides on our website.

Until then happy camping!