DIY A 18" Collapsable Doll Stage With Catwalk

Here you can see our lovely Journey doll showing off her Spring formal. Perhaps she will wear
 it to her Prom or her Quinceañera. She also shows off a hot pink boa and
glamorous beaded necklace!

       Every little girl needs a stage to show off her doll's best clothing and this handmade version for 18 inch dolls would make a uniquely wonderful gift for this very purpose. I purchased the supplies at the Dollar Tree store nearest to me. My favorite thing about this craft is that it folds up and can be stored away inside of a closet or underneath a bed, once the exhibit is over!

Top, the proscenium arch. Center and Bottom,
beaded details.

Supply List:

• 2 trifold cardboard display units ($1.00 each at the Dollar Store or Dollar General)
• 2 plastic table cloths ($1.00 each at the Dollar Store)
• extra cardboard, one very long piece measuring at least 33"
• masking tape
• white school glue
• hot glue and hot glue gun
• white typing paper
• heavy books (to weigh down the cardboard as it dries)
• a yardstick
• sharp scissors or a box cutter if an adult is helping you
• plastic hooks or ribbon to tie back the curtains

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Cut apart only one of the two cardboard display units. Cut carefully down the folded parts of the trifold - where they bend. Set these three walls aside. (picture below)
2. I chose to make our runway white because this playset will second as a photo booth for our doll fashions. However, you may choose to make your runway any color you like. It is important to note that the color of your cardboard is best suited to match the color of the runway curtains. This is not a must but when photographing dolls it flatters the doll clothing and models.
3. Cut your plastic table cloth to match the height of the trifold walls plus 1/2 inch longer, so that the edges may be gathered or pleated and then taped over the top of the display to the backside of the wall. Doing this with tape first allows you to make adjustments to your design as you go. Once you are satisfied with the gathered/pleated edge, tape it down firmly to the wrong side of the cardboard wall. 
4. To finish the trifold display neatly and to give it added strength, take the cut trifold walls, best side facing out, and glue them to their counterparts. This will sandwich the gathered curtain parts between the two cardboard units with white school glue. Use large, heavy books to weight down the cardboard pieces as these dry so that they don't warp. Give it a generous hour or more to dry. Don't worry about the plastic table cloths getting wrinkled, these will smooth out afterwards when you set up the runway to play with.
5. You may wish to cut a back door exit from the trifold display unit for dolls to enter unseen by the audience, I did not cut away this backstage door because I chose to use my theater display to second as a photo booth. But if you want your theater to be a playset, cutting a door through the back trifold walls is easily done. Measure the height of your doll and ad an inch to this length when cutting a door so that your dolls may fit through the rectangular opening easily. 
6. Now you are ready to cut the front of the theater from the longest piece of cardboard, 33 inches long. This piece is called the proscenium arch and it also has a curtain hanging down from it that hides the stage from an audience while it is transformed into any kind of space that actors or models are using to display their show. The front curtain here is called the safety curtain. During a runway exhibit it may be pulled back by the hooks that we glued to the side panels of our trifold display. 
7. First make sure to cut the length of your proscenium arch to measure 33 inches long. I used a fancy template to make this arch with curves at the top. You may cut it straight or fancy whatever you desire. I wanted to give ours a bit of interest because it is all white. I also cut some shapes to glue on top of the arch to ad a bit of interest to our design. 
8. Then I covered the entire surface on the front with white typing paper and school glue.
9. Cut notches one to two inches from each end into the cardboard proscenium at the bottom. Make sure these are wide enough to fit the top arch neatly onto the trifold. The notches will need to be cut approximately 1 1/2" deep and these should be about 1/4" wide. See photograph.
10. Next, you will cut the plastic cloth material to the appropriate length for the front stage curtain. You will need two pieces the exact same length and width. These will be gathered or pleated by the same method that you used for the curtains attached to the trifold. 
11. After these a have been adjusted and attached to the backside of the suspended proscenium, paste and paper over the tape and curtains on the backside of the arch with typing paper as well. This will conceal the ruffled edge of the curtains at the top and also make the overall project look professional.
12. Now you may use you hot glue gun to attach either ribbons or hooks to the side trifold walls in order to hold back the safety curtains of your stage. (see photo)
13. To make the catwalk or runway, all you will need to do is to glue together a simple platform or cut a long narrow rug instead. This may be any length that you care to make it, really.

Left, two trifolds for the back walls of the doll stage. Center, the stage and catwalk constructed
from scrap cardboard. Right, the catwalk fits inside a cut away
section of the stage during play.

Left, the plastic table cloth from a dollar store is cut and draped over the stage walls.
Right, I have taped it to the backside of the wall where it will not be seen. Then I will glue an
additional trifold to the backside, for added strength. However the trifold needs to be cut
 at the seams and glued in three sections so that the stage wall may collapse and be stored flat.

Two beaded loops are glued to both sides of the end trifold walls. The curtains hung from the
proscenium arch will be gathered into these loops at the front of the display.

•  See a Barbie/Fashionista version here...

The stage and catwalk are two separate pieces.
All together there are four units for this display.