Kids & Play

#60 · Build a TeePee

Arrange three chopsticks, bind the tops together, and spread the base. Tiny teepee achieved. Great for cake decorating too.

A dozen chopsticks tied near the top and splayed at the bottom makes a miniature teepee - the right scale for dolls, figures or a tabletop diorama, and a rainy Sunday classic.

How to do it

1. Gather 8 to 12 chopsticks.
2. Bind them together about 3cm from the pointed ends, wrapping the thread round and round and then between the sticks to lock it.
3. Stand it up and splay the blunt ends out into an even circle.
4. Adjust until it stands on its own, then glue the feet to a card base if you want it permanent.
5. Wrap a piece of felt or paper around the outside, leaving a door.

Why it works

A cone of leaning poles is self-supporting because each pole's weight pushes inwards against the others at the apex, and the ground pushes back at the feet. Nothing needs to be rigid at the joint, which is why a loose binding works and why the design turns up independently in cultures all over the world.

Tips & warnings

• Wrapping between the sticks as well as around them is what stops the binding sliding off.
• A tissue-and-cellophane fire inside is worth the five minutes.
• Splay the feet wider for a more stable, squatter shape.