I have been wanting to get my son a reading nook for his room just like this one for a while now. But most of them were a little pricier than I wanted to spend, so I put it on the back burner project list. Until my friend, Ashley, showed me one she made using a wire circle and mesh curtains that she sewed around the circle. Brilliant and very inexpensive to make! One problem for me is that I do not like the sewing machine. Wish I did, but we just are not getting along these days. I am more of the iron-on-adhesive type. I went with a different approach to create this, and it only took about 30 minutes (while waiting for dinner to cook in the oven:-). This little guy loves it! It is a special space in his room that he can close the curtain, hide, think, explore, read and imagine!
I decided to use a hula hoop for the top. Michael’s currently has a summer special for buy 1 get one 50% off right now, and do not forget to use Michael’s Weekly Ad Coupons. If you live in Santa Barbara or near a 99 Cent Dollar Store, they have them for only $1.00. That is where I found this one. Since it is blue, I wrapped it with duct tape to make it a clean white look.
1. Cut the hula hoop to allow the curtain to go through it and to discard the beads that are inside.
2. Get any color or pattern duct you want and wrap it around the entire hula hoop as shown below to change the color.
3. When you arrive at the end, finish by cutting off the duct tape.
4. Now put your hula hoop through the curtain. I used two panels, but you can use more if you want.
5. After your curtain is through, secure the cut ends of the hula hoop with duct tape. Wrap around starting at 3 inches out, and wrap about 5 times around to secure a complete circle again.
6. To hang, use picture hanging wire and cut about 4 even strips. Tie to hula hoop at openings and to curtains if needed. Fasten to the hook that drops from the ceiling.
Chase loves doing projects with me, so I had him help duct tape the hula hoop – making it extra special to him (and the mama) that his little fingers were involved. After hanging, you have a beautiful reading nook ready to enjoy! What is fun is you can use any pattern or material for your curtain to match your existing playroom or bedroom. Just use extra long curtains – these are from IKEA.
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