Bed Sheets and Fabric Pieces – No-Sew Fort Ideas for Kids

Posted November 13, 2017 by Fort Magic

As a parent, you know that kids love making forts. Also, you’re happy to see them do it, knowing that fort-building is a great way to build teamwork and planning skills while having fun. But one thing might be nagging at the back of your mind — what do you cover a fort with once it’s done? You might be worried that you have to buy a unique fabric cover that can cost you a lot more than you intended. Or you may think that you have to spend hours sewing together fabric pieces to make something that fits the exact fort design your kids chose to build.

Thankfully, neither of these options is the case. It’s super easy to cover your fort with almost any material you can imagine. Best of all, there is no sewing needed. Instead, you can use Fort Magic fabric clips to attach separate fabric pieces to the frame of your child’s fort. You can cover each of the walls, plus the ceiling, one by one. In the end, you’ll have a fortress that looks completely neat, well-made and beautifully patterned — all without having to sew a single stitch. The fact that it’s so easy means your kids can even do it themselves. Also, you can leave them to it, taking some much-needed time for yourself.

So how exactly can you go about making no-sew fort covers? There are two main ways: using bed sheets and fabric pieces. Here’s some more information about each!

Using Bed Sheets as Fort Covers

Bed sheets can make the best fort covering material because you don’t have to find anything unusual or spend any extra money. Instead, you can use some extra sheets you have lying around your house. Plus, chances are that if your kids like the design on their sheets, they’ll love having the same pattern on their forts!

One idea is to use a single bed sheet to cover the entire fort. To do this, get your child to stretch the cloth over the frame of their fort, and then roll the edges up until they are just slightly behind it. Then, using Fort Magic fabric clips, you can easily attach the sheet to the frame and then roll the bundled-up part back down just enough to cover the clips. You and your kids can do this to cover all sides of the fort, and the clips will be barely noticeable!

Alternatively, you could use different bed sheets to cover alternate walls of the fort if your kids want a multicolored experience. You can fold up big sheets so that they are small enough to stretch over the section of the frame you want to cover without too much overhang. Then, as we mentioned above, roll the edges up over the frame and attach with clips, rolling the fabric back down to seal the gap. Afterward, cleanup is easy — merely detach the bed sheets from the fort, and you won’t have any extra materials to put away that you wouldn’t have had already.

Using Fabric Pieces as Fort Covers

If your kids want to design their fort cover or have a specific color scheme in mind, you can use pieces of fabric to cover the exterior of the fort. Thankfully, still without having to sew anything.

To pick out the fabrics your kids like best, visit your local craft store. There, you can find materials like felt, fleece, faux fur and anything else you can imagine. The fabric is measured by length, so make sure you get something long enough to spread out over the section of the fort that you want to cover.

Afterward, map out what you’ll need to cut out of the fabric. Using online templates for Fort Magic designs, find the dimensions of the material you’ll need to cut. Next, have your kids measure out the squares and rectangles using a measuring tape and mark them with a fabric marker. After they cut out the pieces along the lines, they can attach them to the part of the fort to which they correspond.

For specialty shaped designs, like the gabled roof of a castle fort, you’ll have to trace the Fort Magic pattern onto the fabric so that you can make sure it fits correctly. From there, let the fabric clips work their magic like with the bed sheets! Afterward, save the pieces so that you can repeat the process later with your kids if they’d like.

What no-sew ideas do you have to cover your kids’ forts creatively and without pricking little fingers (or yours!) on sewing needles? Share them with us below!

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Photo Credits:

The Artful Parent Blog: One of our absolute favorite creative blogs for children and families.  The Artful Parent blog is filled with simple ideas to fill your family’s life with art and creativity.  A must see blog for sure.

Babble Dabble Do Blog:  One of our absolute favorite blogs for learning, art and hands-on education. The Babble Dabble Do blog will inspire hours of creativity and awesomely-educational playtime in your home.  A must see blog for sure.

Learn With Play At Home Blog:  An inspiring educational blog created by a primary teacher that strongly believes in making learning FUN & seamless through childhood playtime ideas and activities.

Uncommon Designs Blog:  Uncommon Designs is a blog dedicated to creating a beautiful life. From special touches in your home to making handmade gifts, this fun blog shares projects and ideas that are both “on trend” and classic. If you enjoy creating, then Uncommon Designs is the perfect place for you.

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