When it comes to screen-free activities, you just can’t beat spending time outdoors with the kids.
Maybe that’s why camping is popular among families with young kids; it’s a great way to get plenty of time outside.
Even if your family isn’t planning a camping trip this summer, you can still enjoy camping crafts, roasting marshmallows and taking hikes at local parks. That makes this duct tape craft perfect for this time of year!
Grab a few colorful rolls of tape and let the kids have fun learning how to make a sit upon. It’s perfect for toting on hikes and using to sit around the campfire.
Duct tape is a fun material to work with in kid crafts, especially for tweens. We’ve even used it in several fun duct tape crafts for school.
We made this sit upon at day camp as one of our scout camp crafts, and it’s seen plenty of use since then.
This duct tape sit upon would be fun to make before a family camping trip or as a craft to welcome summer.
What Is a Sit Upon
A sit upon (sit-upon) is a padded seat cushion that provides you with a dry seat when camping or hiking. They are also great for using on bleachers during sporting events.
I remember making a Girl Scout sit upon as a young girl before our first scout camping trip.
This no-sew sit-upon is quick and simple to make, allowing kids of all ages to create their very own colorful place to sit when outside.
How to Make Sit Upon with Duct Tape
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Materials needed:
- Cloth shopping bag
- Plastic shopping bags
- Polyester Fiberfill (Optional)
- Duct Tape
This craft is a great way to recycle some of those plastic shopping bags!
Take one plastic bag and stuff it with 15-20 other plastic bags. Try sitting on it.
Need more stuffing? Add more bags. (An alternative is to fill the plastic bag with polyester fiberfill.)
Once you have the thickness you prefer, tie your plastic bag in a knot and stuff it into your cloth shopping bag.
We chose to keep the handles on our reusable shopping bag sit-upon to make it easier to carry when hiking.
Not interested in toting it with you? You can cut the handles off or tuck them inside the bag.
Then it’s time to start with the decorating!
Start by covering the seams of the cloth bag with duct tape, folding the tape over the edges to help waterproof it. When taping the top of the bag, cut pieces of tape to fit around the bag’s handles.
Once the edges are sealed, use strips of duct tape to decorate the outside of your sit-upon.
You can use all one color, make a pattern, or get as creative as you wish!
This duct tape sit upon is perfect for carrying on that hiking trip, giving you a clean, dry place to sit when you need a rest.
The homemade sit upon is also perfect for sitting around the campfire. (I remember always having my Girl Scout sit upon to sit on during campfire time at camp.)
This duct tape craft pairs greatly with our simple duct tape water bottle holder.
While you’re sitting around that campfire why not give this soap carving camp craft a try?
That comfy sit upon craft makes a great seat for reading time, too.
You could even use these sit-upons for outdoor classroom use. Kids will love having their very own dry and comfy spot to sit when they go outside to study.
Your child will love learning how to make a sit upon. That duct tape sit upon may even inspire a little more reading time this year.
Other posts you may like:
- Soap Carving
- Duct Tape Water Bottle Holder
- Colorful Soda Straw Weaving
- STEM Activity: Craft Stick Catapults
Originally published August 10, 2015.
