How to Assemble a No-Sew Couch for Barbie

A Barbie and a Fashionista relax around their sectional sofa/couch with their pet Dalmatian mix.

       I took a sectional design one step further and created a faux wooden structure to wrap around the cushions from cardboard. This will give the doll couch extra durability as little ones move it in and around the dollhouse. 

       The project was made entirely from recycled materials that I had on hand. The couch is very light weight because of the foam seating and it is versatile because of the neutral color palette.

       Make a variety of simple stuffed pillows in order to change it's appearance inside a dollhouse. I cut my pillows from a grey wool tweed and a bright fire engine red velvet. Sew a straight seam around the edges with right sides together, leaving a one inch opening to turn the pillow inside out. Stuff it with cotton batting and sew the opening shut with an invisible stitch and matching thread. My larger pillows measure 4" x 3 3/4" across and the small pillows measure 2 1/4" x 2 1/4".

A Fashionista props up her feet on
 the matching ottoman.

 Supply List:

• foam squares
• faux wood finish shelf paper
• grey felt or any color of felt 
• wool felt or any fabric scraps for the couch pillows
• hot glue and hot glue gun
• cotton batting
• contrasting fabric for smaller pillows
• cardboard
• tacky white glue
• brown paper bag
• needle and thread to clean up the corners (optional)
• masking tape

Step-by-Step Instructions: Assemble A No-Sew Sectional Couch for Barbie:

1. My foam squares measure 4"x4" and are exactly 1" tall. I recycled these from packing I found in a box.
2. Wrap the foam edges and sides where hot glue will be used. Hot glue may melt the foam so you need to create a point of contact where the foam is protected from the heat while the glue cools.
3. I decided to stack two squares together for the seat cushions and use only one square per back cushion on my doll's couch.
4. Cut the felt to wrap around the foam squares neatly. Cut out the bulk of felt at the corners; this is unnecessary fabric. see photo below.
5. Fold the felt around the foam square neatly, tacking down the material with hot glue as you proceed. The neater your corners are wrapped, the nicer the sectional sofa will be in the end.
6. After wrapping all of the pieces, hot glue the wrapped, felt cushions together. Hide the glue by applying it only to the sides where each cushion butts up against another.
7. I then cut cardboard sides 5 1/2" by 4" and hot glued these to each end of the couch. I left the sides unwrapped so that I could cut and smooth faux wood grain shelf paper to the couch later.
8. Then I cut four pieces of cardboard 12 1/2" long, and 5 1/2" wide. After wrapping these in much the same way as the foam cushions with grey felt, I hot glued the entire couch on top of this piece.
9. I also cut a long piece of cardboard measuring 12 1/2" x 1" to brace the backside of the sectional couch. I attached it with hot glue.
10. Wrap both the inside and outside cardboard trim of the couch with self paper. Use extra tacky white glue to do this with. The adhesive that comes with the shelf paper is not strong enough to attach it to the cardboard alone. Do not wrap the corners of the cardboard with shelf paper; it will not adhere well enough.
11. The edges of the cardboard must be wrapped separately using thin clippings of brown paper bag and white tacky glue. This is the final step before finishing the couch.
12. I also cut two identical arm rests for my couch. This step is optional for a sectional design. I covered the arm rests with shelf paper as well and gave them a bit of extra support by gluing wooden coffee stirrers to the underside corners where the arm rests and sides of the couch meet.
13. I made a ottoman using the same techniques. Most sectional couches come with an ottoman to rest the feet upon.

Left, My foam squares measure 4"x4" and are exactly 1" tall. I recycled these from packing I found
in a box. Center, I experimented with the arrangement of these foam squares to see what kind of
 furniture I could arrange the squares into. Right, the foam shapes would make a nice loveseat
 arrangement as well.

Left, wrap the foam with masking tape to create a temporary place where hot glue will not melt
the foam. Center, cut the felt to wrap the foam squares neatly. Cut out the bulk of felt at the corners;
 this is unnecessary fabric. Right, above you can see that I wrapped my corners very snug.

Left, I decided to stack two squares together for the seat cushions and use only one square per
 back cushion on my doll's couch. Center, I cut a long piece of cardboard measuring 12 1/2" x 1"
to brace the backside of the sectional couch. Right, I  cut cardboard sides 5 1/2" by 4" and hot
 glued these to each end of the couch.

I wrapped both the inside and outside cardboard trim of the couch
with shelf paper and finished the edges of the cardboard with brown paper
 bag strips and tacky white glue.

The finished Barbie sized couch from three angles.

Arranging squarish pillows to change the appearance of the sectional couch.

More Sectional Sofas For Barbie From The Web:

• DIY an Upholstered Tweed Armchair
• How to make a faux leather club chair...
• MyFroggyStuff makes a sectional sofa from recycled doll boxes
• The Square to Spare makes a Mid-Century Modern sectional using poster board and fabric