subject: Let's Learn How To Make A Teepee [print this page] A Teepee is a type of cone-shaped tent dweeling, made to function as a portable home. The nowadays Teepees are normally constructed with canvas but before they were mainly constructed with animal skins or birch barks. It is deeply associated with the Native Americans who were the main users of this kind of homes, they were easy to use because they could be easily put together and disbanded whenever a tribe decided to move again to a new desitnation. Despite the fact that teepees are created small they are known to be very durable and can also survive almost any weather such as the cold, tough winds and heavy rains. It provide heat in the cold periods as well as it was cool in the summer seasons. Unlike other tents persons can also burn fires from inside the teepee as a means to keep warm or prepare food because it was constructed to be self-ventilated. To get a basic concept of how teepees look and there structure, this piece will talk about how to make a simple teepee on your own from beginning to end.
Required Tools:
Knife or razor
Needle
Thread
Required Materials:
Canvas
Rope
12 poles
Wooden bolts
Stick
Instructions are as follows:
1. First instruction will be to trim the canvas which will be used for the teepee. Shape out the canvas into a semi circle using a sharp razor or knife so that its twice the length as it is wide. It is recommended to use 15-by-30 feet and cut two smoke flaps in the center of the canvas.
2. Now cut a semi circle door opening into each side of the canvas so that when the borders are put together it forms a circular door opening. Now use an extra round piece of canvas to construct the door and hem a pocket into it and insert a heavy stick that will hold the door closed and hem it onto the teepee canvas.
3. Create three little cornered pockets from pieces of the canvas. Use the needle and thread to sew them to the tip of the smoke flaps. Use an extra piece of canvas to reinforce the parts of the smoke flaps where there will be a large amount of strain.
4. Hem a rope over the circular base at the base of the canvas. Then put in evenly spaced rope loops around it to firmly peg down the teepee. Now fasten a rope at the top to lash the top part onto the rods when the teepee is put upright.
5. The 12 poles for the teepee must be at least 3 feet longer than the width of the teepee covering. So for instance if the top is 15 feet wide then the poles should be 18 feet long and they need to be straight and smooth.
6. Take three of the strongest poles to construct a tripod. Use the rope to tie the tripod as one so that its a little taller than the cover. Place the next set of the poles against the tripod to form a cone shape desing for the teepee.
7. Now pull the cover around the structure and join them at the pinnacle using wooden pegs. Bolt the base of the cover to the ground and spread the poles to stretch the covering and put in two light poles into the pockets of the smoke flaps. This is the part that will acts as a chimney, creating a draught.
Tips and Warnings
*When you are making a teepee, 10 feet is supposed to be the lowest height to consider because this is much simpler to create, cheaper to make and much simple to maintain. But if you want a teepee that can accommodate a lot more persons at a time and is smoke free then you should consider creating it to be much larger one.
* You can also use various types of material like cotton flannel, duck or heavy unbleached muslin.
