Going camping? Need a new doghouse? Maybe you just want to store some tools and implements out of the weather? Whatever your needs, go get a roll of quality duct tape, and you’ll soon have a tent that can protect you while camping, keep your dog out of the weather, or protect your tools. Duct tape is a miracle product that can be used to make all sorts of pup tents.
A really easy way to make a pup tent – whether for camping, the dog, or another duty, start with a large piece of cardboard. Fold it in thirds but not necessarily equal thirds. Decide on how wide you want the bottom of the tent to be, then fold the two sides up from that. Crease the folds well then open the cardboard out flat.
Lay the cardboard on a table in front of you so that one of the longest sides faces you. Begin tearing long pieces of cardboard – long enough to reach from the bottom to the top, with a few inches hanging off each end. Lay the first piece so that it’s only halfway on the cardboard, then wrap it over the edge, and around to the back. Lay each additional tape piece so that it overlaps the previous piece a quarter-inch. Do this from the left to the right and, as you did with the first piece, lay the last piece so that it’s halfway on the top, and wrapped around to the back. Also, wrap the excess tape – from the top and the bottom – around to the back.
Fold the cardboard at the original folds so that you create a triangle shape. You’ll need a way to keep the top of the pup tent together, yet be able to take it apart to fold it flat while transporting. To do this, tear strips of tape, and fold them nearly in half, leaving a few inches still sticky. Lay the sticky end on one side of the cardboard, near the peak. Make enough of these to go, side-by-side, across the entire peak, to create a flap. At the folded ends of the flap, use peel-n-stick Velcro, and put the opposing pieces of Velcro on the top side that doesn’t have the flap. Now, the flap stays intact on one side of the peak, and goes over the top to use, and pulled back off to fold flat.
Make a flap for the back of the pup tent by doing the same thing you did to create the peak flap. Cut and fold tape lengths, put the sticky ends on one side, and the folded ends to the other side. Use Velcro to secure the ends.
Cardboard makes it easy to create a pup tent but you can also make one without it. Tear strips of tape, lay them out on a table. Then place another strip on each one, so that their sticky sides are facing each other. These large sheets of duct tape can then be cut and sewn or taped together, as needed. This type of tent must be propped up, from the inside, with wooden dowels or something similar.
The cheap and easy duct tape pup tents can be used in many different ways. Take them camping, or use them at home; they take some time to make but they’re handy and will hold up for a long time – and then they’re easily disposable!