A long time ago, or so it seems, I talked about making a “Build a Fort” kit using UK sourced items but based on this DIY here.

If you would also like to do this, you will need the following:

– A lantern (I got this wind-up and solar powered LED lantern from Tesco for about £5)

– Two single sheets or blankets (I used these, also from Tesco)

– 4 metres of ribbon for creating loops (I bought mine from Wilkinsons around Xmas but any haberdashery type shop or even pound shop should have some ribbon, mine was pale blue to match my colour theme)

– Pegs (I used the blue ones from this pack from Wilkinsons and covered them with decorative tape)

– Suction cups (I used these from Wilkinsons and removed the hooks)

– a sewing machine or you could hand sew this, it’s just a matter of time.

– a bag to put everything in (I used a cloth shopping bag)

First step is to decorate your pegs if you would like them to be a bit more interesting:

I used two different kids of decorative tape, one with chevrons, one with stars and then left some plain blue. This probably took me half an hour to do one evening in front of the tv.

I cut 12 ribbons to 20 inches in length:

You will also need a length of ribbon roughly twice the length of your blankets.

Some were a little shorter but it doesn’t matter. I pinned a 20 inch ribbon in a loop to the corners of both of the blankets:

And then one to each edge in the centre of the blankets:

However, knowing that the boys I was making this for have large built in cupboards in their playroom with sheer surfaces, I wanted to give them another option for making a fort, which is where the suction cups came in.

I took the bag of suction hooks and pulled each hook off which left me with a load of suction cups with a convenient hole in the middle:

I then threaded a suction cup to each of the loops I’d added to the blankets:

I then took the extra long length of ribbon that was left over, attached a suction cups at each end and tied a knot to keep it on.

The I popped everything into the cloth bag and tied the handles together with the ribbon that came with the two blankets:

My cousin came over the next day and we visited Didcot Railway Centre for their Thomas Day. I gave the boys their present just before they left and they were both very excited to get home and start using it!