Doll furniture, no matter what size doll you have, can easily be made by you. Some really easy things to make are: chair, sofa, bed, tables, rugs, pictures, and even wardrobes. Supplies can be foam, fabric, cloth, paint, even deli trays. You’d be surprised what you can make from things you already have at home.
A quick and easy chair, for instance, is made from a piece of material and some stuffing. Draw the shape of a lightbulb and cut it out of two pieces of fabric. Also cut two triangles which are about 2″ across the bottom and 3″ tall. Turn the lightbulb cloth shape upside-down to where the largest part of the “bulb” is facing downward. Pin the triangles pieces, one on each side, between the wide part of the bulb shapes. Position it to where the 2″ side of the triangle piece goes between the front and back bulb-shaped pieces, at the bottom. This will give you a design of the screw part of the bulb being the back of the chair and the bulb part being the seat of the chair. Stitch the triangles into place before sewing around the screw part of the bulb.
Leave a small section open for stuffing. Pour in mini styrene balls or even rice. Stitch shut. Settle the Barbie doll into the chair. Move her back and forth on the seat. This forces the stuffing up into the back and makes a nice concave area as the seat. This design is a beanbag-type chair that works great for other dolls as well – just make it larger for big dolls.
Blow up a small balloon and tie. Dip lightweight string in starch and wrap it around the balloon. Continue wrapping, allowing to dry, then wrapping more, until the balloon is covered in string. The starch will harden the string as it dries. When completely dry use a pin to pop the interior balloon. Cut a large oval shape from one side of the string and remove the popped balloon. Use elasticized string to attach the “chair” to a ceiling in the dollhouse. Simply set the doll in the opening and she has a unique hanging corner chair. A cushion can be made for the string chair by simply sewing two small circles of fabric together and stuffing with cotton or foam. The chair can be painted any color with most any type of paint.
Use deli trays to make any number of furniture and accessory pieces. A birthday cake lid, for instance, makes a fabulous pool. Whether the lid is small, large, round or rectangular, it will make a perfect pool. Glue small stools, made of plastic and found at craft stores, into the interior corners of the pool. Glue small plastic ladders to the sides for doll entry. Plastic cups that hold pudding or applesauce make perfect ourdoor furniture. Glue the lids or bowls on tripods, or cover with sewn plastic covers.
You can make a deck to surround the pool out of popsicle sticks. Glue the sticks onto the top edge, at one end of the stick. The stick should point outwards. Now glue another stick to the end of the first stick. The first stick will form the deck board while the second stick forms the legs of the deck. Continue gluing the sticks until the pool is surrounded. Make sure to leave a small place for an entry way. Glue a set of wooden craft steps into the entry way to complete the deck.
A wicker basket makes an impressive bed for a larger doll. Choose a wicker basket that’s deep enough to hold the doll. Make a pillow with lace for the mattress. Purchase wooden rockers to mount the bed, leave bed sitting right on the floor, or use tiny empty spools for legs. Instead of wicker baskets you can also use plastic storage containers.
The small, square plastic storage containers are perfect for a vanity chair. Use the tiniest ones for Barbie-size dolls and larger ones for bigger dolls. Stitch a throw that’s square on top and has a long ruffle all the way around. Now just turn the container upside-down, position the cover, and set the doll. The same can be done to make a sofa that sits against a wall. Glue two or three of the smallest containers together, make the throw for it, and place it against a wall.
Foam blocks can be used to make sofas, beds and more. Check at places that sell foam or order pre-cut pieces online. Use a long piece of block foam to make a bed. Be sure the foam block is long enough to hold the doll then cover the block in fabric. Fabric glue will make this job very easy. Now you can make sheets, blankets, and even pillows for the bed.
Instead of covering the entire foam piece with fabric you can also surround it, except for a tiny portion of the foam on top, with fabric-covered cardboard. This will give it a look of being framed-in and will be sturdier. Instead of covering the cardboard with cloth glue a laminated picture of dresser drawers to the cardboard for a drawers-under-bed design.
Small boxes for gifting jewelry are perfect for coffee tables, end tables, night stands and more. The lids make great counter top sections, drawers, and other things for the house. Use the technique of gluing pictures onto the boxes and lids to make fabulous designs like cupboards, vanities, stove, refrigerator, microwave and home decor.
Boxes that have four lids, two small and two large, make fantastic wardrobes. Cut the two small pieces off and use for pictures on the wall. With the remaining portion of the box cut magazine pictures out to decorate the box, or wrap it in cloth. Use tiny doll furniture hardware to close the wardrobe or make your own with small button and elastic thread. Inside, use a craft stick to make the clothes hanger rod. Cut it to size and glue it in place, making sure it’s positioned low enough to accommodate the doll clothes hangers.
It’s easy to make rugs for your dollhouse, too. Cut corduroy, denim, faux-fur or other selections of cloth to the size rug you need. Now use foam backing to keep the rugs in place. The foam backing can be found in the form of cabinet liner at most department stores. Cut it to shape and size then glue onto the back of the cloth pieces.
Make easy pictures for the walls by cutting out any design from a magazine and gluing it to a piece of cardboard. Laminate the picture to make it look even better. Use scrap-booking frames around the perimeter of the design. Decorate the frames with tiny faux jewels, faux fur, wallpaper, or shelf paper.
Accessories can be something as simple as a perfume bottle. If you’ve ever seen those tiny perfume sample bottles you know they make the perfect vase for flowers. Simply cut some tiny silk flower pieces to place in the “vase. And stickers can be used as everything from wallpaper embellishments to vase decorations. There are many ways to make your own doll furniture or accessories, and many things already in your house for making it. Try a few small pieces for practice then get busy creating new dollhouse home decor.
Reference:
- miniatures.about.com/od/ creatingminiatures/ht/decals.htm www.abcteach.com/babysit/joann/dollhouse.htm
