DIY an Upholstered Tweed Armchair

        Our dolls love to grab a cozy blanket and sink into a big comfortable chair after a hard day's work with a book or warm drink.
       This tweed upholstered chair craft is simpler to make than it looks! It is made in much the same way as the leather club chair posted here. 
       Remember to start by making the arms and bottom in the shape of a "U" with 4 inch by 4inch sized pieces of cardboard to size for a 10 -12 inch doll, layering on multiple cardboard cut-outs to bulk up the chair as you go.

Finished doll armchair.

The doll sized couches our tweed arm chair was made to go with:

• Barbie's Bohemian Patchwork Sofa
• How to assemble a no-sew couch for Barbie

Supply List:

• tweed upholstery, 1/2 yard
• masking tape
• corrugated cardboard
• white school glue
• hot glue and hot glue gun
• matching plaid for pillow, just scraps
• two wood blocks for the base
  

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Cut 4''x4'' pieces of corrugated cardboard for the arms and bottom sides of the club chair. Triple these cut layers from cardboard to make them sturdy. 
2. Glue the pieces together to shape a "U" Shape.
3. Cover the surfaces using masking tape.
4. Make the backside of the chair by cutting the cardboard into a "T" shape with a rounded back.
   
5. Glue three of these "T" cut pieces of corrugated together to make the back sturdy and cover with masking tape as well.
6. Glue and shape the tweed fabric around the parts of the club chair using a hot glue gun. (See photos below)
7. Apply glue to the edges of the back piece of the chair and fit it between the side and bottom shaped "U" piece. Use a rubber band to hold these together while the glue dries. (see photos)
   
8. Craft a thick cushion using either Styrofoam and cardboard or layers of cardboard or a stuffed fabric cushion. Any one of these alternatives will suffice! For this chair version I used layers of cardboard for the seat cushion.
   
9. Glue the wooden base to the bottom of the chair.
10. I left the wooden blocks on the bottom of the over-stuffed tweed chair in their natural, original finish and then covered the wool upholstery edges with additional fabric to finish the surfaces.
11. Cut extra thin pieces of covered cardboard to hide the wrapped edges and finish the over-stuffed chair.
    
12. Cut and stuff a plaid pillow to display in the seat of the chair.
    

Left, the parts of the chair without the wooden blocks for it's base. See how the back is shaped to
slide neatly between the arms of the chair. Center, the seat cushion in this instance is just layers
of cardboard. Right, see how the backside of the chair construction looks.

Left, the chair assembled prior to hot gluing on the fabric. Center additional cut pieces for the neat
 finish of the arms and seat. I used only single layers of cardboard wrapped cuts for this technique.
 Always wrap and hot glue fabric to end around the arms and then cut fabric to cover the edges.
Right, see the thin layers of cardboard wrapped with masking tape and tweed.

Left, the finished backside of the arm chair. Center, see the wrapping of the fabric ends with the
 armchair side edges. These will be covered up with the end pieces shown above. Right, one of
our many small dolls is seated comfortably in the finished chair.

Additional Upholstered Furniture for Larger 18" Dolls:

• Wing-backed chairs designed for larger dolls by Mattel