You can likely recall several moments when you happened upon your kids and their friends excitedly building a fort. The kids probably tried to use everything they could find to make their castle, including blankets, linens, pillows, and furniture. However, when dawn breaks, the kids must face the heart-breaking challenge of cleaning everything up; all the hard work goes away in moments. But we know a way for the fun never to end.
Help keep the joy going and your kids’ imaginations running by building a soft DIY fort with pool noodles you never have to take down.
Supplies
The first step to making your fort is building the frame; here are the tools you will need:
- Pool noodles
- Duct tape
- Craft knife
- Step ladder
You will need about 15 pool noodles for the frame, so you may want to buy them in bulk. At Honor Trading Company, we have multiple colors ranging from green, red, and yellow to white and black pool noodles in bulk so that you can make your frame any color you please.
Frame
Start by grabbing four of your pool noodles and duct tape them at the ends to form a square. Repeat this step, and you should have two foam pool noodles squares. Take two pool noodles and cut them in fours—you will use these smaller pieces as foundation support. Take one of your squares, stand a long pool noodle at one corner, and fasten it with tape to keep it upright.
Then take your small pieces and apply them diagonally on each side of the upright foam noodle so that you have a triangle. Repeat this step at each corner, taping an upright, full-length noodle, then adding a diagonal smaller support foam piece. Finally, place the other square on top of the four standing pool noodle pillars and secure it with tape. Your frame should look like a cube.
Fort
You have finally finished the hard work, and your frame is ready to be a fort. The next part is up to you and your imagination. Just make sure to use lightweight linens on your fort so it doesn’t affect the sturdiness. Grab as many pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals as you’d like and store them inside your fort. Now your soft DIY fort built with foam pool noodles is ready for a night of scary stories, movie watching, and fun memories you won’t soon forget.