My kid’s love building dens, they always have and I’m a really big lover of them playing outside for as long as possible.

Years ago I came across the ‘build a den’ kit bags that you can purchase on a whim from expensive garden centres and to be honest I think they were very reasonably priced (around £50). Aaaand being the difficult bugger that I am I stored the idea away in the back of my mind thinking I’d bloody well make one and do it myself.

So I thought you might all enjoy joining me on the journey to making one. That will probably cost me more than the £50 that it would have cost me to buy a kit and certainly more in time… But lets see how it goes, you might like to make one too!

Using our washing line is the best idea I could come up with, it’s already in situ and spans our tiny narrow garden. In order to maintain harmony in my marriage I decided to measure the canvas out so that it didn’t interrupt my husbands horticultural ambitions, however his dreams of reseeding the perfect garden lawn might take a little hit!

The washing line is approximately 1.5 meters high (with a good pull with both arms to mimic the weight of the canvas, I’m very scientific about my measurements you see). So I used my best secondary school maths and came up with this.

Because I’m Extra – I added a flap that runs the length of the tent with poppers to hold the den in place on the washing line so when the kids are fighting inside at least the tent stays up and doesn’t slide to one side or the other. I also made a ground sheet with holes for pegs to make sure when the kids are dragging my nice blankets out into the garden they don’t end up quite as muddy.
And the finishing touch, a moveable loop in the top for hanging a light on or whatever you fancy really.
The rings for each guide rope are hidden under a flap in the side giving this tent it’s iconic canvas camping shape… And because no one wants to see the rings and bits, it’s nicer to have them hidden.

Canvas – I had three off cuts in the workshop none of which weren’t quite long enough this annoyed me greatly…. However I came up with a solution… and used a 4m roll, this was enough for the tent and the ground sheet… Winner winner chicken dinner!

The extra bits I used were –
Tent Pegs – 8 outer pegs and 4 for the ground sheet. I used light up ones to add a little magic you can find them here
Guide Ropes – just your standard guide ropes, these I cut down because they didn’t need to be as long and I added extra leather taps to hold everything in place.

So all in all what did it cost me and was it worth it… Well it was certainly over £50 if you factor in my time as well it’s creeping into the hundreds BUT I think you’ll agree it was absolutely bloody with it… Just look at that amazing den! And rather than being a flimsy sheet with a hole for a rope this one is a little bit special and will last for years to come. Might make one for my god daughter now too… I think she and her brothers would love this.

Next time –
I think I’ll add pockets, I’m going to find some tent poles too that I can use to pitch it if there’s no line or trees to hold it up. I also only needed 3 guide rope loops on either side.