How to Make a Blanket Fort

A blanket fort is fun to play in and easy to build. You can use a bunk bed, dining table, chairs, a flipped-over couch, a windowsill, or other household items. Put blankets over all of the open areas that let light in, or just simply put in a lamp, and bring a flashlight or other safe light source in with you. Tell scary stories with friends late at night (or during the day if the blankets block enough light). You can even have a sleepover in it. Block extra holes by stuffing cushions, pillows, or crumpled-up blankets in the cracks, but make sure that they can hold up nice and strong. To make it even more fun, try bringing an ipad, a phone, or a tablet in with you. Be safe and have fun in your fort!

Steps

Standard fort

1. Be sure you have appropriate supplies before you begin. A blanket fort typically uses blankets, but that is just a jumping-off point; most homes will be full of possible materials.
   • Besides blankets, try: Pillows, sheets, baskets (to make an entrance) towels, or even a play mat to put on top of baskets.
   • Blanket forts will need structural support. Typically this will come from chairs (such as dining room chairs), or other furniture (such as couches).
   • Large sections of cardboard or extra-big boxes (such as appliance or moving boxes) can be super-useful to help strengthen the structure and create other rooms.
   • Also consider some safety pins (or clothespins for younger children) to pin the sheets together to form a tent-flap style door.
     
2. Choose an area that is out of the way of household traffic. Do not put it in the middle of a busy hallway, or in the kitchen.
   • • Classic locations include living room, bedrooms, under dining room tables or furnished basements.
3. Choose items carefully - ask for permission if unsure. Do not use items that somebody in the house might need to use before your fort is taken down. Your sister will not appreciate you using her bed sheets when she is headed to sleep for the night, or your mother's computer chair when she needs to use e-mail.

1. Engineer your blanket fort. There are countless ways to construct your "fort", and much of the enjoyment comes from the challenge of using your materials to suit the environment.
   • Be flexible: problem-solving takes trial and error. If the blanket falls down means you have to change something.
   • If you are part of a team, listen to your partners.
     
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1. Try using safety pins, elastics, pegs or paper clip clamps (the larger the better!) to connect sheets and blankets together to keep the sheets from falling down. Using rubber bands to tie blankets to chairs is also a good way to keep them suspended where you want them.
   
2. Try to drape the sheets and blankets over the top of the chairs. Don't put the blankets on the edge of chairs or they'll fall out. Use rubber bands or clothespins to keep the blankets on, if you need to. If it looks good enough, keep it as is.
   
3. Create a door, if you desire. It is nice to have a door that you can shut out the rest of the world. It will also allow you to get in and out easily, without having to take it apart.
   
   • Or leave an opening on the side of your fort for a door. If there is no room to leave an opening, you may have to make space for a door.
   • Leave an opening at the front and back of your fort for an entrance and an exit.
   • Or do not worry about a door. It is a blanket fort which means all you have to do is gently push aside fabric to enter or exit.
4. Try placing books or heavy objects along the edges of the sheets and blankets to hold them in place so they won't tilt and fall. Do not use anything heavier than you want to fall on your body. Also, nothing breakable or valuable.
   
5. Add a blanket and a few pillows inside to sit on. Grab a DVD player, an MP3 player, or anything fun to do and enjoy while enjoying the comfort of your fort.
   
6. Invite a friend to join you if your fort is large enough. Grab a few snacks and play a game. Have a sleepover. Use flashlights.
   
7. Make your fort as simple or elaborate as you like. Build a few different rooms, if you want. Furnish your fort. You can use kid-sized furniture if you have it or improvise with pillows and cardboard boxes.
   
8. Find an epic name for your fort (e.g "Mount Olympus")
   
9. Grab a snack to eat inside your fort. You never know how long you'll stay in there.
   

Chairs and clothespins fort

1. Make a fort with chairs and clothespins. You will need a blanket, chairs and clothespins.
   
2. Put a blanket or quilt on the ground. Use a quilt because it's softer to sit on.
   
3. Put a chair on each corner of the blanket.
   
4. Put a blanket on the chairs. This creates a roof for your fort.
   
5. Get some clothespins and pin the blanket to the chairs. Done, or proceed to adding walls in the next step.
   
6. If you want a fort with walls, take some small blankets and pin them on the roof blanket so they create a wall effect. Repeat for other walls.
   

Teepee fort

1. Assemble four chairs, tall leg resting cushions or dressers of a medium size. This tutorial will assume you're using chairs.
   
2. Arrange the chairs into a square.
   
3. Place a lightweight blanket over the top of the square. You might need a helping hand.
   
4. Clip in place. Use paper clips, safety pins, rubber bands, etc. to hold the blanket in place.
   
5. Have helpers pull back each of the chairs. Pull until it no longer droops in the middle.
   
6. Use a stick or long pole for the middle piece. Insert this in the middle, to raise the blanket upward.
   
7. Keep the stick in place by pushing large cushions or pillows around it.
   
8. Lay comfortable items across the floor. Add quilts, cushions, and other comfy things inside.
   
9. Add your goodies. Add electronic devices, books, food, etc.
   
   • Add a flashlight for light.
10. Crawl inside. Invite friends in. Have a cozy time.
    

Tips

• Make the blanket fort high enough where if you try to sit up it won't fall over.
• Never put too many blankets on top of each other. If you do then your fort will fall down.
• Use a battery-powered lantern or flashlight inside your fort. Set it on the floor, or see if you can build it into the top of the blanket fort.
• Sheets work best to provide more light and air.
• Cover gaps and spaces with towels or pillow cases.
• If you want to make a two story fort, use your bed and the ground for more space!
• Have fun, spend the night, watch scary movies, bring the iPad, and always be great =D.
• Bring a bag with stuff you can use or play with.
• Make walls by hanging sheets and blankets inside the fort.
• Try using other kinds of furniture, such as a couch or table.
• Take in a portable radio and listen to music in your fort.
• Once inside, you can clip the door closed with clothespins or hold it closed with rubber bands or more books or cushions at the bottom.
• You can keep pillows over the chairs to make your fort higher.
• Make your fort big enough so that you can move around in it!
• Have fun pretending. Your fort could be your pirate cave, your bear den, your clubhouse, your castle, your tea room, or anything else you want it to be.
• Have a fan to circulate air and keep your fort inflated.
• To complete some of the tasks you may need a helper.
• Large pillows have lots of uses in blanket forts. Use them inside for seats, or use them as part of the structure of the fort.
• Remember, there aren't any real 'rules' in making a pillow fort-you can alter it any way you want!
• Stuffed animals and dolls make nice friends if you can't invite your real people friends over.
• Use extra chairs, sheets and blankets to make a house of separate rooms.
• You can use a pillow for a door so you can open the door and close it.
• Bring pillows in among with some food in case you get hungry.
• If you have a bed in the middle of your room then put chairs around the side and get some string to connect the blankets to the chairs.
• If you don't have a flashlight you can use electric candles.
• Card tables make an epically awesome fort! Just drape a blanket over it! Add more than one table for a larger fort.
• Put couch cushions at the bottom of your fort.
• Limit the number of people.
• You can use a broom to make it high and you can make windows so you can look through. Bring blankets so you can sleep or get comfy inside your fort!
• If you have board games or guess who that would be good to bring into your fort.
• Cut a square shapes on the blanket wall as windows if you're allowed to.
• You can also bring a portable fan if it gets hot.
• You can use quilts and pillows to build it instead of just blankets and pillows.
• You can use bunk beds and hang a few blankets over the top bunk.
• Place a blanket in between your bed and your dresser. Hold it in place with books or heavy blocks, using the real wall for your wall and have a pillow door. Then you are good to go.
• Put the back of the cover our sheet behind the couch do it holds.
• Don't make it a mess.
• Pin blankets to the inside of your fort to make different rooms.
• Don't spread the chairs too far apart or your blankets won't reach.
• Make sure you have plenty of supplies before you try to build your fort.
• If you a want big fort use big blankets.

Warnings

• Be careful with large objects!
• Do not switch on a lamp as this can result in a fire if it comes into contact with any sheets or material.
• Do not use objects belonging to other members of the family unless you have their permission.
• Do not use sheets made of plastic. Plastic can suffocate.
• Do not use a breakable, heavy object to hold one side of a blanket up, and make sure that if you use an object that isn't fragile, it cannot fall on you while you are inside the fort.

Things You'll Need

• Chairs/bed, dresser, couch or table.
  
• Large sheets or blankets
• Safety Pins or clothespins
• Heavy books or objects
  
• Pillows or cushions
  
• Large area to build fort (best place would be your own room for less disruption)
  
• A clean space to build fort

from How to of the Day //www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Blanket-Fort
via Peter