Make a simple hanging nerf target with just a few inexpensive materials– no sewing required! 

My boys were given two nerf guns for Christmas, guns much bigger and stronger than the five dollar ones which were currently sitting in their toy drawer. At first, I was all “they’ll shoot their eyes out!“.

Or at the least shoot each other, leaving me to settle the perpetual disputes.

But once a few ground rules were established, I moved past being anxious and started brainstorming ideas for a simple target to make the guns even more fun. (The process literally only lasted about five minutes and only took listening to my husband laughing at my maternal fears and then telling the kids not to shoot each other).

This hanging target made its debut at my son’s Star Wars birthday party this past weekend. It’s good for me to have a deadline like that because otherwise it would be next summer and I would still be thinking of how the combination of embroidery hoops and netting would make a great nerf target.

I used various sized embroidery hoops, inexpensive netting material, and reusable shopping bag fabric to make the target. I sewed the netting into pockets, but you could easily glue them just as well.

The target is held in place with a tension rod looped through a small pocket at the top. I designed it to be able to hang in the hallway, in a doorway, or like I did at the party, wedged in a corner of a room.

I bought 2 yards of the utility fabric, trimming the width just enough to fit our doorways. But you can just as easily use the idea to make a target of whatever size you like.

Don’t be surprised if the nerf target turns out to be just as much, if not more, fun for you as it is for your kids! I know it is for me!

And if you have nerf gun fans at your house too, check out this tutorial to make dart pouches to slip through a belt too! (coming soon!)

DIY Hanging Nerf Target Tutorial

Cut the utility fabric to the length and width you want, remembering that you will lose a couple of inches on the top and the bottom when you create a pocket for the tension rod (top) and dowel (bottom).

1. Fold the top and bottom edge over towards the back side to create a 1″ pocket for the tension rod and dowel. Sew or glue down the length of the pocket to secure.

2. Lay out the embroidery hoops on the back side of the target. Use a pencil to trace the circle on the inside rim of each hoop. Cut out each circle along the pencil lines.

3. Glue the opening of each net pocket around the circumference of each cut hole on the back side of the target. If you use utility fabric, use a low temp glue gun to avoid burning a hole in the material. (See diagram below on how to make the net pocket). 

4. Sandwich the embroidery hoop on both sides of the target. The larger rim of the hoop with the screw should be on the back of the target. Bunch the net pocket in the center so that it is not pinched in the hoop.   Line up the two pieces on the opening, and tighten the screw to secure the hoop and net.

Repeat for each opening in your target. 

Insert a tension rod in the top opening and a dowel in the bottom to weight it down. 

{How to Make the Net Pocket}

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