How to Make a Tulle Canopy your Kid will Love!

Easy-to-follow instructions for how to make a tulle canopy in 6 simple steps. Add sophistication and fun to a kid’s room, play room or reading nook with this fun DIY kid’s canopy!

When we started the makeover on our daughter’s room earlier this year, I knew I wanted to incorporate a tulle canopy into the design. I love the sophistication and yet playfulness it adds to a space, plus I knew it would make her feel special.

I looked online for her reading nook canopy before deciding to make one myself, and while I loved both this one and this one, I decided to make one, simply for budget’s sake.

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Lucky for me, I had already thrifted the embroidery hoop and was able to use left-over tulle from my sister-in-law’s wedding decor, so this project was super cheap for me to make.

Even if you don’t have left over materials to use for yours, try checking your local thrift stores for the embroidery hoop and grab the tulle with a coupon at Joann’s to cut down on the cost!

HOW TO MAKE A TULLE CANOPY

Before I show you how I made our DIY kid’s canopy, let’s take a minute to talk about canopies in general.

Types of Indoor Canopies

Canopies are most commonly hung over a relaxing spot – like a reading nook, chaise lounge or bed – and are typically made out of light and sheer fabrics like tulle or polyester.

There are many types of canopies and each one gives a unique style to the space where it’s displayed. The round topped, draped style (like I’ve made) adds a bit of “royal sophistication” while straight drapes give a much more casual look.

I’ve heard many people ask, “can I hang curtains around my bed?” and the answer is definitely yes! If you’re going for more of the straight down look, rather than a swagged or draped style, then hanging pre-made curtains around your bed can be a great idea!

Just keep in mind, curtains and curtain rods are not cheap – so hanging 4 panels on each side of your bed can get spendy. Consider DIY’ing the panels using my methods shown here and simply hang them straight down from rods on the ceiling instead of on the embroidery hoop.

Now, let’s get to it! A printable version of this tutorial is available at the bottom of this post along with the materials and tools you’re going to need – so be sure to scroll down for those details. 🙂

How to Make a Canopy Tent out of Tulle

STEP 1: CUT TULLE

Your first step is to decide how tall (or long) you want your canopy to be. I knew ours was going to be about floor to ceiling length (and our ceilings are 7’6″ tall) so I decided to do 9′ long to give me enough length to drape.

Once you know how long you want your tulle panels to be, cut 12 of them at that length plus 8″.

STEP 2: SEW PANELS

Next, you need to “hem” the top of your panels so that they have a pocket to thread onto the hoop. Do the following for all 12 of your panels.

Fold the panel in half then fold the top over by 4″.

Sew the hem at 3″ from the top with a long, zig-zag stitch.

Then trim off the excess tulle below the hem on the backside using sharp scissors.

For more tips on how to sew tulle, visit this article.

STEP 3: PAINT EMBROIDERY HOOP

Next you’ll want to remove the inner hoop from your embroidery hoop (it’s not needed, although I used mine for a second canopy and you’ll see that in the pictures below) and then spray paint the outer hoop.

You could always use the hoop in its natural wood state, but I wanted mine to blend in underneath the sheer tulle, so I chose to spray paint my hoop white.

Whatever color of tulle you choose to make your canopy out of, be sure to spray paint your hoop the same color.

STEP 4: THREAD ON TULLE PANELS

After your hoop has dried for 24 hours, thread all of your 12 tulle panels onto the hoop.

I found it was easiest to gather the panel pocket up on my fingers first then slide it over the end – it helped keep the tulle from snagging.

STEP 5: ADD ROPES AND RING

Now that you have the hoop and panels complete, it’s time to add the hanging hardware!

Start by deciding how far from the ceiling you’d like the hoop of your canopy to sit. We chose just a few inches because we wanted it to feel like it went from the floor to the ceiling.

Once you know where you want the hoop to end up, measure the length from the hoop to the ceiling and cut two ropes at twice that distance plus 6″.

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Tie one end of the first rope in a knot around the hoop and then tie the other end on the opposite side of the hoop (making sure you have 6 tulle panels between knots.)

Hook your metal ring clip to the first rope.

Tie the first end of your second rope centered between the first rope’s knots (ensuring you have 3 panels on either side) and then wrap it around your metal ring before tying it to the other side of the hoop.

STEP 6: HANG THE CANOPY

The final step is to decide where you want your canopy to hang and installing the ceiling hook.

We chose a “swivel” hook so the canopy could easily rotate and not get tangled.

Once the ceiling hook is installed, simply hang your metal ring on the hook and drape your tulle panels around your bed or reading nook!

I decided to trim my tulle panels up a bit after they were installed so that they rested nicely on the floor. The edge of tulle doesn’t fray so don’t worry if you want to trim them up with scissors after yours is installed too!

I just love the style it add’s to our daughter’s reading nook!

As promised, here is the printable tutorial with all the material and tool details:

I hope this simple tutorial for how to make a tulle canopy makes it easy for you to add some style and fun to a space in your home!

Again, this type of canopy can easily be hung over any space, including your bed, so follow these instructions for how to make a bed canopy with tulle too. 🙂

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