18 inch Doll Bed and Bedding

Preview of the finished bed and bedding!

 In early December I had an "ah ha" moment and knew what I wanted to give my husband's two eldest nieces for Christmas.  Needless to say he wasn't getting away with doing nothing! and kindly took a little detour on his way home from a business trip to make a stop at IKEA for me.

 I started with these - DUKTIG doll beds from IKEA which are suitable for dolls up to 18 inches long (American Girl Dolls).

The bed comes flat packed with bedding in a plastic bag. 

They come in unfinished wood which is very soft (marks easily) but I assembled them in about 10 minutes each.

The assembled bed and bedding.

 I decided to varnish one and paint the other.  I had planned on cream paint but when I opened the tin it was solid!  Plan B - my choices were burgundy red, pottery barn boys blue or Farrow and Ball green.

I opted for the tin of unopened "Vert DeTerre" Farrow and Ball that had been abandoned for an uncompleted project and got to work.  It took one coat of undercoat and two top coats.  The varnished bed took 3 coats (despite the tin saying 2 coat finish!).

Mid way through the process!

I created mattresses for each of the beds.

I used the instructions/tutorial from here - on "So Not a Domestic Diva" blog.  I had a remnant of fleece cotton which I used and did the box pleats as Lea did in her video.  One mattress is probably a tad too big and one is too small (because it was all the material I had left!).  But the fitted sheet hides a multitude!.

I checked it for size before I hand stitched the end of the seam (visible in photo above).  I used toy stuffing in the second mattress but you could use wadding or whatever you have to hand.

I got the fitted sheet and pillow tutorial from "From An Igloo" and quilt ideas from Jaime over on "that's my letter". I didn't actually patchwork though... just bought fabric in Home Focus that resembles patchwork squares!. 

The step by step for the quilt was much the same as the sleeping bag (that post is here) - 3 layers (top layer - patchwork fabric, middle layer - fleece, bottom layer - cotton fabric).

I stitched along the lines on the red quilt to give the appearance of patchwork! and stitched on the diagonal on the blue quilt.

I like how they both turned out.  The undersides of the quilts matched the fitted sheet but I didn't have enough fabric to make top sheets!. I added bias binding around the edges with the machine on the front and hand stitched using a slip stitch (invisible) on the back of each quilt.

Here are the beds side by side dressed with their quilts and pillows.  Instructions for pillows are also on the doll sleeping bag post here.

I made my quilts long enough to reach just above the floor - or alternatively they can be tucked under the mattress when the doll is in bed.

The extra pillows .... accidents!  They were pillowcases that weren't quite right so I cut them down, created two bolsters pillows/cushions and one sealed pillow sham.

Thanks so much for peeking.  As I said previously - I have never attempted anything like this before (hence my two sewing posts are devoid of sewing jargon/details!) and my machine has only ever sewn paper!  

Thanks so much for stopping by - hope this post gives you the encouragement to try something new in 2013.
Happy New Year!

Doll Sleeping Bag and Pillow

I decided to do some bedding as gifts for Christmas (and can post this now!) and went searching online for inspiration/patterns/ideas.

I came across Mama Pea over on peas in a pod who has an amazing step by step tutorial - check it out here.  It was inspired by Vicki Walker of Expert Village who has several videos on you tube.  I also found a tutorial about pillowcases on Christine's blog - from an igloo.

I took a look at all the available inspiration (pinterest etc) and decided to follow "Mama Pea's" measurements and got started.

Now before you decide this post isn't for you..... I don't have any fancy gadgets i.e. a rotary cutter or a self healing mat big enough to use to cut material (I used my Fiskars 17x11 mat), or one of those wonderful quilters rulers or a quilting foot for my little sewing machine or any knowledge of patchworking!
So armed with my Fiskars scissors (featured above in the first photo), a school ruler, pins and determination I set to work.  

I should mention that before this the only thing my sewing machine had actually sewn was paper!!!!!

Okay... background picture painted!!!

I cut templates from newspaper - 21 inches x 13 inches (folded) or 21 x 26 (open).  I wanted to be able to make the best use of my fabric and make sure I didn't mess up!

I cut my top fabric, middle layer - fleece material and backing fabric using this template and then pinned them together at intervals.

I then stitching horizontal lines across the layers (you may see the pins are still in place).

I then rounded the corner of the layers (I used a chocolate lid as my template!).

Pin the bias binding on the top half of the sleeping bag pulling at the corners to create a rounded corner.

Machine stitch - then unpin and hand stitch the bias binding on the back/inside.

The next step is to put the bias binding over the two layers of sleeping bag (basically "sandwiching it together"!).  Don't you just love my technical terminology!!!!

 I wasn't too confident at this so I tacked the bias binding front and back with white thread so I knew that I had secured it on the back as I machine stitched.

I then added a button where the bias binding joins - you could add a bow if you wanted.  I put my Fiskars scissors next to the sleeping bag so that you can get an idea of scale.

For the pillow

I worked out my dimension (10 inches by 6.5/7 inches).  I used a long piece of fabric (20 inches by 6.5 inches) as that was what my scrap was!  I then cut two pieces to create the edge/open end of the pillow.

 I pinned the edging with wrong sides facing.

 Below are both pieces reading for machine stitching.

 I then placed them right side to right side and machine stitched.

When turned and pressed I then ran another line of stitching on top.

 

 I had already made an insert for the pillow using some cotton scraps (read hubby's old shirt!) - filled with toy stuffing and top stitched the end closed.

 I got so proficient! I made a second one in red!.

Two sleeping Bags and pillows ready for gifting!