Turn A Bookcase Into a Changing Table

       I discovered a doll sized bookcase at resale. It was a bit too wide and heavy for a fashion doll bookcase and too small for an American Girl Doll's bookcase. So, I decided to convert it into a changing table for our Barbie's nursery.

A bookcase for a doll may be transformed into a
very nice diaper changing table.

Supply List:

• corrugated cardboard
• toothpicks
• acrylic paints
• clear acrylic varnish
• Mod Podge
• tacky white glue
• felt square 
• printed fabric
• sandpaper (light weight)
• typing paper
• hot glue gun and hot glue
• masking tape
  

Step-by-Step Directions:

1. Clean your resale item with soap and water and set it in the sunshine to dry thoroughly.
2. Lightly sand the surfaces so that the paint will adhere to the item. 
3. I choose to paint my changing table with four colors: black, yellow, blue and green. These colors match flowers in the fabric print I selected for decoupage portion of the project. I first painted the top shelf yellow, then the middle shelf a turquoise blue, and the bottom shelf a hunter's green.
4. Then using a tiny brush, I painted the changing table's decorative trim black. You may find that you need to repeat these steps several times to get good coverage.
5. I used a ruler and typing paper to make patterns of the changing table sides and back pieces. Then I traced around these patterns on top of my fabric with a white piece of chalk.
6. Cut the pieces out of the fabric and hold them up to the parts of the furniture you wish to decoupage to see if these are the correct size and shape.
7. Brush on the Mod Podge and firmly press the fabric cuttings onto the sides and back of the changing table. Layer more Mod Podge on top of the fabric and then let the changing table dry overnight.
8. Now measure the length of the shelves and cut two pieces of corrugated cardboard to fit the length that measure approximately 1/2 inch wide.
9. Cut toothpicks down to half inch pieces. Make sure these are all the same length before assembling the railing for the top of the changing table.
10. Using a tacky glue, squeeze a dot of glue on the end of each cut toothpick and nestle these inside every other hole of the corrugated cardboard interior. Let the glue harden before fitting the second piece of cut cardboard on top of the railing. This is tedious work but simple once you get used to it.
11. Now let this small railing harden prior to painting it a color of your own choosing. I painted my railing bright yellow to match the top shelf.
12. Glue the dry railing into place using a hot glue gun.
13. Measure the inside of the top shelf to make a cardboard cut out for the changing pad.
14. Cover the top of this cardboard with a piece of felt of the same size. Glue the felt into place with a small amount of tacky glue.
15. Now lay this cardboard shelf on top of the decorative fabric and cut around the cardboard, leaving enough fabric to wrap it around the corners and a bit of the bottom. Secure the wrap with masking tape. (see photo below)
16. Hot glue the upholstered changing pad onto the top of the changing table.
17. Now you can fill the shelves with all kinds of items your Barbie's baby may need: diapers, wipes, toys, a bathtub etc...

Left, the safety railing made from toothpicks and corrugated cardboard and the changing pad/mattress.
Center, the finished table. Right, the backside of the changing table's pad. You can see the masking tape
used to secure the wrapped ends of the fabric prior to gluing the pad down to the top of the changing table.

Different views of my finished doll changing table. See the matching cradle for our Barbie's nursery.

More Diaper Changing Tables:

• Lena Wiese builds a diaper changing table from wood and here she builds one from foam core.
• Use a dollar tree dresser for a diaper changing table
• Froggy crafts baby room furniture using craft sticks and cardboard

Quick and Easy Skeleton Costume for a Doll

How to make this doll's costume from recycled plush and plastic.

       This is a good idea for reusing some of your old holiday plush. Why not unstuff it and make quick doll costumes for a doll's party? It takes so little effort and the results are inspirational. Before you know it, you can create an entire cast of characters for a doll play, parade, or trick-or-treat adventure.

Above is the skeleton novelty plush and skull
with plastic arms that I used to make a quick,
simple doll costume for Barbie and Ken's son.

Supply List:

• small sharp scissors
• snap or Velcro
• black ribbon or seam binding tape
• stuffed novelty plush
• plastic skeleton parts
• threads to match
• No-Fray (optional)
  

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. First measure the length and width of a doll that you wish to make this costume for. Compare these measurements to the length and the width of the stuffed novelty plush. Are the two similar? If so, you will be able to un-stuff the plush and use it for your doll.
2. Next, you will need to use small sharp scissors to clip off the end pieces of the arms and legs. Try to remove very little of these and tack their edges under using a threaded needle, if possible.
3. Clip off the head of the skeleton as well so that your doll may be fitted properly to the costume. You will also need to clip a 1'' seam down the backside of the plush in order to work the doll in and out of the body suit.
4. Remove all of the cotton filling from the plush.
5. I folded a small black ribbon around the edge of the opening in back and ran this up along the neck and back down the other half of this cut, sewing it in place with a black thread and needle so that the raw edge would be covered. Raw edges can tear and run after just a small amount of use, so these must not be ignored. You could use a No-Fray or No-Sew glue around these raw edges if you finishing such tiny seams is too difficult or time consuming for you.
6. Attach a snap or a piece of Velcro at the back to hold the costume closed while your doll is wearing it.
7. I cut the arm bones from the plastic skeleton, (above right), with a sharp pair of scissors.
8. Then I threaded a sharp needle with twine and attached a piece of it to either side of the skeleton's mask so that I could tie it at the back of my doll's head with a simple knot and bow. Now this boy Barbie doll is ready to go trick-or-treating with his doll parents or perhaps he can wear the costume to a party or march in a Mardi Gras parade!

More Trick-Or-Treat Fun:

• Over 100 Riddles for Trick-Or-Treaters
• Knock, Knock Links 
• Halloween Safety Tips

Decoupage A Doll's Storage Trunk

Every little girl should own a doll trunk and at the very least, a few nice dolls with clothing to dress
 and redress their dolls with. These kinds of toys promote opportunity for both dramatic play and
 creative sewing/craft projects.

Doll trunks may cost as much as 100 dollars
or as little as 5 dollars.

       Two 11 1/2 inch dolls will fit comfortably inside this little wooden doll trunk. Soon I will fill it with handmade doll clothes and accessories. The drawer is for shoes, the rack for clothing and I will add a shelf for hats later.

Supply List:

• a doll trunk to decoupage
• Mod Podge
• soft brush
• decorative, acid free paper
• wooden dowel
• hot glue gun and hot glue
• ruler or tape measure
• sharp scissors

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Acquire a Doll trunk for this project. I picked this one up at resale for five dollars. It was in excellent condition but cried out for an update. 
2. Make sure the surfaces of your doll trunk are clean and free of dust and dirt before beginning.
3. I decided to leave the slats of my trunk stained on the outside. So I measured and cut decorative paper to fit between these and applied Mod Podge to paste the paper down and then layered several coats of this glue on top of the paper to protect it. You will need to proceed slowly with this process in order to keep your work clean and free from tears. Let each side dry completely before covering the next.
4. Then I measured, cut and pasted the interior of the doll trunk with coordinating papers. 
5. I did not have enough of my paper to cover all of this interior so I decided to use a third coordinating paper on the drawer. 
6. The last step is to glue in a dowel rod for hanging clothing if one is not already in place. Measure the interior carefully, cut the dowel and then use a hot glue gun to position it between the two walls above the drawer. Leave a couple of inches at the top interior of the trunk above the dowel so that there is plenty of room for clothing, hangers etc... to fit in. I chose to be generous with this space because I intend to eventually add an additional shelf for hats.
   

Left, here you can see that I had to glue in a dowel for hanging the doll clothing. This is not unusual,
many doll trunks are sold with only the bare essentials. For centuries, people altered doll trunks and
 even life-sized steamer trunks to accommodate their own needs and tastes. Center, doll trunks are
sold with a smalldrawer located at the bottom of one half of the trunk. Right, this trunk has a clasp,
 but no lock.

 

See how I built a doll crate closet for our 18" dolls here.

DIY Clamshell Laptop for Your Favorite Doll

Left, Cut and trim the pattern for a doll laptop below. Draw around it on top of scrap pieces of cardboard
 or cardstock. (laptop is 2 1/2" x 1 3/4") Center, the laptops shut. Right, the laptops open with monitors on display.
Double the size of this trendy doll laptop design for your Lindsey Bergaman doll.

 

       The "clamshell" shape of this pretend, laptop computer is made by layering and pressing corrugated cardboard pieces together. Don't let the finished product intimidate you! The process is a simple one and a child as young as 10 can do it.

       It is also important to use wood putty and a light weight sandpaper for the process, so make sure that you have all of the supplies on hand before beginning. I have linked to similar crafts below for those of you who are looking to craft something a bit simpler; all of these options are very good as well.

Supply List:

• scrap corrugated cardboard
• masking tape
• scissors 
• wood putty 
• sandpaper
• Mod Podge (optional)
• white school glue
• spray paint or acrylic liquid paint or nail polish
• metallic adhesive tape (alternative)
• tiny stickers for your laptop logo icon and the monitor screen
• printable keyboards from Google image search
• picture for monitor (screen saver)
• black tape or paper for touchpad

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Cut and trim the pattern for a doll laptop below. Draw around it on top of scrap pieces of cardboard or cardstock. (laptop is 2 1/2" x 1 3/4")
2. Glue together two pieces of cardboard for both the top and bottom of the laptop, so that you will have four cardboard cutouts in total to make the computer.
3. Use masking tape then to cover all of the surfaces neatly. Trimming excess tape around the corners as you go.
4. Apply a very thin layer of wood putty to the outside surfaces of both the top and bottom of the laptop. This application will fill the cracks and help to create a subtle dome-like surface (clamshell) for both the top and bottom pieces of your play laptop computer.
5. After the laptop pieces have dried overnight, lightly sand the top, bottom and edges of the surfaces where you have applied the wood putty.
6. You may wish to repeat step 4 and 5 in order to achieve a perfected looking surface. Remember, this is a learning process. Do not become overly anxious about your first efforts. It takes perseverance and practice to achieve the best results.
7. With the metallic adhesive tape, hinge the top and bottom laptop pieces together from the inside of the laptop only. If you tape this hinge from both sides the laptop may not close properly. If you haven't any metallic adhesive tape you can use the masking tape. I suggest the metallic adhesive because it can take more wear, tear and play.
8. Open the laptop and lay it face down to either spray paint it or to apply any liquid acrylic paint of your own choosing.
9. Paint these surfaces with several even coats and let them dry.
10. Print and cut keyboard clipart (above link). Apply these with Mod Podge or white glue if that is all you have on hand.
11. Cut and stick a smaller square from the black tape and apply this for the touchpad.
12. Cut a screen saver from a picture you like in a magazine and apply this with glue to the inside of your tiny laptop. 
13. Don't forget to glue a tiny sticker for your laptop's logo icon on the topside of your doll's computer.
14. Let the glue and paint cure for a day before handling the tiny laptop.

The finished doll laptops.

 

Craft More Laptops or Home Computers: Playscale or Miniature

• Craft a Doll Lap Desk for A Doll's Bed - surface for laptop or homework, writing in bed
• DIY Laptops for Barbie Dolls
• How to make a doll laptop notebook computer by Kiki Mendes
• How to make a laptop for a doll with regular cardboard from Akeelah Oseitutu (child narrator, very cute)
• DIY Doll Laptop using Foam Sheets
• DIY Realistic Miniature Laptop
• The history of laptops from 1975-2022
  

The Tissue Box Cover Bed

Left, the tissue box cover made from stamped metal (fretwork). Center, Sew a simple mattress and
 pillow to match the tissue box cover. Right, Now your doll has a lovely place to sleep at night.

       I found a tissue box cover at resale that I thought would make a very nice doll bed. I chose to leave it white so that someone small could use multiple color combinations to blend in with this item in the future.

Supply List:

• one tissue box cover of any style of color
• cardboard
• fabric to cover the cardboard
• simple cotton fabric for the doll's mattress and pillow
• needle and thread to match
• fiber filler or a foam mattress pad
• hot glue gun and hot glue

Step-by-Step Directions:

1. Depending upon the weight of the doll you wish to use this tissue box cover with, you may need to cut a piece of cardboard out to fit on the under side of the cover to support the doll and her mattress. If you do this, paint the cardboard support a color that blends in with the fretwork of the cover.
2. Wash and iron the white cotton fabric before cutting and sewing the linens.
3. Sew a simple doll mattress by cutting out two identical rectangles the same width and length of the tissue box cover. Don't forget to add a seam allowance to these rectangles of 1/4 inch before cutting them out. 
4. Sew a straight seam around the two stacked rectangles minus a two inch gap. 
5. Turn the mattress right-sides-out and stuff the cotton filler through the two inch opening. Be careful not to stuff the mattress too much! I think I will need to remove some cotton from my own example. If the mattress gets to thick, the doll will roll out of bed too easily! Wew, how exhausting!
6. Cut, sew and stuff a small pillow for the bed in the same way. 
7. Now all your little bed needs is a blanket and perhaps a comforter. I will cover these lessons in future posts.

This little Forever Best Friends doll is tucked in for the night with a proper set of bed linens and a cozy pillow.
 She is wearing comfortable pajamas too.

More Doll Bed Crafts:

• DIY American Girl Doll Bed Out of Tissue Boxes
• Doll Bed from Cardboard

Craft a Car Shaped Ball Pit for Your Dolls

A tiny baby doll plays in his car shaped ball pit. Soon it will become a part of his bedroom in our dollhouse.

       Ball pits don't need to be round, standard shaped enclosures. These playful additions may be shaped like almost anything when you use your imagination. Just think about what you would like in your own bedroom and turn it into a ball pit for fun! After all a doll's bedroom can become any kind of a fun space, if you are willing to craft it yourself.

This ball pit, photo by Fredriksson, is
life size and inside of a pretend ship in-
stead of a car! Read more about ball 
pits at Wikipedia.

Supply List:

• a front end of a toy car
• Styrofoam balls
• papier mache pulp
• paper egg cartoon
• black tape
• black, white and orange acrylic paint
• red glitter glue
• masking tape
• cardboard
• white school glue
• two identical buttons for tail lights
  

Step-by-Step Directions:

        First you will need to acquire the front end of a toy car at resale for this project or if you have a small boy living at home, one of these may be easy to find. A project like this one allows for a bit of imagination because the ball pit could be made out of any size or shape of a broken toy vehicle. I purchased my broken car on purpose at resale. As you may well imagine, I got many strange looks from the cashier.

      Next, comes the most difficult part, shaping the wagon attached to the backside of the car from cardboard. This shape is made up of basic elements: a square, three sided wagon, wheel wells, wheel shapes, (cut from an egg carton) and the lip of the wagon that attached with a small hook onto the inside of the broken car.

You will need just the right broken toy for this project, but your version will look different from mine,
 depending upon the toy car that you find.

       Cover the entire wagon attachment with masking tape before adding the paper mache pulp to it's outside walls. This protects the cardboard surface, strengthens it and makes it mostly water proof. Well you can't dump the toy in a tub, but, you will be able to wipe it down with a damp cloth if need be...
       I left the inside of the wagon and the bottom side of the wagon free of paper mache pulp and opted to cover these with a black duct tape instead.

 

Masking the cardboard wagon before applying paper mache pulp.

       Below, you can see that I hot glued a couple of buttons on the back bumper to act as tail lights. Later, I then squeezed some red glitter glue onto the button surfaces to make these even more convincing. 

       I also left a part of the back bumper free from paper pulp so that I could paint a flat, smooth surfaced license plate.

Covering the cardboard wagon with paper mache pulp.

       Next, I painted the paper mache surface with orange acrylic paint. Then the license plate with the text "BAL-PIT" I used a bit of white black and white paint to make my egg carton wheels look similar to those original wheels of the car itself.

       Spray paint the little paper mach wagon with a acrylic sealer and add the Styrofoam balls for your dolls to romp around in.

Above is the finished car ball-pit for my playscale fashion doll's children. This looks great in their bedroom!

How to DIY a Doll Playpen

Left, Ashley doll is baby sitting. Center, someone small peeks through the sides of our playpen.
Right, peek-a-boo is easy to play from inside a playpen.

       You don't have to create a doll play pen with an ordinary round shaped bottle. Try something unique by recycling an eight sided hydrogen peroxide bottle. Below are the following supplies you will need for this baby doll furniture.

Supply List:

• recycled hydrogen peroxide bottle
• sharp cutting tool like an X-ACTO knife
• masking tape
• hot glue gun and hot glue
• a recycled soft mesh liner or bag (potato bag)
• felt  or fleece and scrap fabric (your choice of color combinations)
• waxed dental floss
• white cotton
• long, large sewing needle
• cardboard 
• metal or quilter's thimble made from leather

Step-by-Step Directions:

       First, cut out the doll playpen from your choice of recycled plastic bottle using an X-ACTO knife. If you are younger than 13 or 14 years of age, you will need to ask a responsible adult to do this first step in the craft process.

       As you can see from the photos below, I wrapped a piece of masking tape around my bottle to mark where I should make my cut using the text on the labels to measure a height appropriate for a playscale doll playpen. (approximately 3 inches)

       Cut away the side panels for the baby doll to see through, leaving the corner walls and floor intact. Reserve a top panel that encloses the entire surround of the playpen. (approximately 1/2 inch in width.

Above, you can see that I chose a bottle with an interesting shape. If you can not find a bottle like this one,
 do not worry. You can make a playpen out of any shaped bottle and it will look just as nice in
 your own dollhouse!

        I reinforced the corners of my bottle with extra cardboard strips and glued these in place. Then I cut the soft plastic mesh to fit the openings where the baby doll may peer through while he or she plays safely inside.

       Use the masking tape to cover all of the remaining brown plastic of the bottle. This step is necessary in order to ensure the fabrics will adhere to all sides during the upholstering of the playpen.

Every surface is eventually masked off so that the hot glue will adhere the fabrics to the plastic properly.

       I glued a hot pink felt layer beneath my kitty cat fabric to serve as a soft liner. Felt is frequently used in upholstered doll furnishings instead of foam or cotton batting. Whether you chose to use this substitute depends entirely on your own preference. I think felt lining makes upholstered surfaces look neat and trim.

The doll playpen has been lined with a matching hot pink felt. On the far right, you can see that I used
 a very long needle to turn under the edges of my decorative fabric with. I also recommend that you use a
thimble to protect your fingers while you work at upholstering doll furniture for the first time. If you feel
unable to work with a metal thimble, a quilter's thimble that is made from leather, may be easier
for you to wear.

       Next, you will need to cover the playpen with your decorative fabric. Turning under the edges as you proceed with a long needle and an invisible stitch. I used waxed dental floss for this process instead of ordinary cotton thread. The floss will hold my sewn surfaces firmly in place through much rough play over time.
      Cut your strips of fabric a bit larger than the felt liner in order to hide seams properly. Sew the thread from back to front and then back again through the soft mesh plastic.
       I left the felt showing on the lower parts of the inside of my playpen, knowing that most of this would be concealed by the thick mattress.

The doll playpen is almost finished.

       Last, you will need to measure the bottom of your doll's playpen and add a 1/4 inch seam allowance to two square pieces of fleece that you will cut out stuff for a pillow.

      Sew around the stacked fleece squares with a straight stitch; leave a 1 inch hole to turn your pillow right-sides-in and stuff it with a small amount of cotton. Close the opening with an invisible or whip stitch. 

       Hot glue the small mattress into the bottom of the doll playpen.

Picking tiny baby dolls from resale...

       I will keep an ongoing record of the miniature dolls that I have discovered in resale, flee markets, Goodwill etc... for those of you who are interested in our doll collections here.

MGA Quints 5-sies 3" tall with rocking horses, high chairs, baby bottles, sippy cups, rattles, blocks,
 bowls and teddy bears. Originally the toys, high chairs and dolls were sold separately for $20.00. I
purchased all of the above in one bag plus much more for $3.00. These three inch dolls are the perfect
size for Barbie's family and friends.

Slightly smaller than the Quints dolls and so life-like, these babies are by TOOB.
 Our fashion dolls will love parenting this group! These dolls are still currently sold.

 

These two inch porcelain dolls dressing lacy Victorian styled clothing are the kind of dolls little girls love to collect.

A recent find at resale, tiny Shopkins by Moose toys.

  Return to the Doll Guide Index Page 

Craft Doll Tennis Rackets

Left, two finished tennis rackets for our fashion dolls. Center, one of our dolls (a curvy Fashionista)
 is dressed and ready to play. I've included a pattern of her tank T-shirt below.
 Right, tennis racket covers made from felt will protect the racket from wear and tear.

       A tennis match between doll friends may be something you will need to craft on your own. So I have included here the first part of this DIY crafty sport, the rackets. Soon there will be an additional post showing how I made the tennis court and net.

Supply List:

• black tape (color preference)
• wire
• masking tape
• green acrylic paint (or a different color of your own choosing)
• fine mesh netting (plastic, may be purchased from a hardware store)
• tacky craft glue
• white felt (a small amount)
  

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Download and print out the tennis racket pattern below.
2. Shape wires into tennis rackets up against the pattern for twisting the wire. 
3. Wrap the racket in masking tape until it is stiff.
4. Paint the upper half of the rackets, see picture below.
5. Cut out the center of the racket's pattern and hold this on top of the netting while cutting out the shapes for the inside of your tennis rackets. Cut these a little larger than you need so that they can be slightly adjusted with scissors as you fit them to your doll rackets.
6. Glue the mesh netting shapes in place with a tacky craft glue.
7. Let the glue dry and harden before proceeding with the next step.
8. Cut long thin strips of black tape to wrap the racket handles.
9. Wrap these handles overlapping the tape just a little as you work your way up the handles.
10. Now you can trace around the rackets including 1/4 an inch felt for a better fit for the tennis racket covers. You will need four pieces like this for two rackets.
11. The cover should not cover the racket entirely see pattern below and picture above.
12. Sew a straight seam around each set of felt covers.
13. Turn them inside out and fit them to the rackets when they are in storage.
    

Left, Shape wires into tennis rackets up against the pattern for twisting the wire. Center, Paint the upper half
 of the rackets. Right, Glue the mesh netting shapes in place with a tacky craft glue.

Free guide for doll tennis racket and a free pattern for a doll tank T-shirt.

More Tennis for Fashion Dolls:

• Career Fair for Barbie and her friends
• DIY Miniature Tennis Racket

Once upon a time... coloring page

Description of Coloring Page: a little girl reads a bedtime story to her teddy bear, stuffed animal, night time, text "Once upon a time...", patchwork quilt, bare feet, flannel night gown, book

Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.

Sew Bean Bag Chairs for Your Doll

Rachel and her twin sister, Rosie, are lounging
on their bedroom bean bag chairs.

       These bean bag chairs are sewn using fleece so that the material will not unravel while a young crafter is working with it. I used solid, bright colors that will blend into the colors of the twin's bedroom. However, these chairs can look very different depending upon the material you select for them. 

       In the past, I have seen people stuff them with perishable products like beans and rice. I would not recommend that you do this because these food stuffings will attract pets, mice or insects to your doll collections. If you do not have the pocket change to purchase plastic pellets, the best alternative is cotton batting.

• Read about the history behind the bean bag chair

Cut pieces for the bean bag chair are marquise shapes.

Supply List:

• matching threads and needle
• plastic pellets to stuff the bean bag chairs with
• felt or fleece scraps
• pattern (below)

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Download and print the free pattern below.
2. Cut out the marquise shape and pin it directly to the fabric of your choice. Repeat this step 6 times.
3. If you are using a no-fray fabric like felt or fleece, you don't need to include a seam allowance.
4. Sew two sides together from tip top tip until you have sewn all of six marquise shapes together leaving an opening of inch so that the bean bag may be turned right-side-out.
5. Stuff the bean bag chair with plastic pellets and then sew shut the small opening with a invisible stitch.
6. Sew on the flower shapes using either a whip stitch or a blanket stitch on each end of the soft chairs.

Left, the twins are enjoying their new bean bag chairs. Center, the cat likes them too. Right, time for hide and seek!

Free pattern for a flower bean bag chair.

DIY Conical Hats for Fashionable Princesses

Learn to craft colorful, fancy cone shaped hats for each of your fashion dolls.
Trim them with silks, ribbons, embroidery etc...

The conical hats are called hennin;
 read more about them at Wikipedia.
Above, Hans Memling's painting of
a young woman with a black velvet
lappets and a conical shaped hat.

       The headdress in the shape of a cone or "steeple", or truncated cone were worn in the late Middle Ages by European princesses and women of the nobility. Various writers on costume history use hennin to cover a variety of different styles. Almost all agree that the steeple-cone style was the original hennin. You can make these theatrical looking princess hats for all of your Barbie dolls!

Supply List:

• cardboard
• masking tape
• hot glue gun and hot glue
• needle and matching threads
• silk scraps, scarfs, transparent fabric scraps
• ribbons to match
• cotton balls
• tacky craft glue 
• one large paper clip
• decorative thin silk ribbons (8 inches per hat)

 Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Download and print out my pattern below. Cut the pattern out.
2. Trace around the hat pattern onto a stiff piece of cardboard and cut this out.
3. Roll and shape the cardboard into a pointed cone and glue it with the tacky craft glue
4. Use a paper clip to hold the cone together while it dries.
5. Cover the entire cone with masking tape. This will hold the steeple shaped hat into place should it get wet during play.
6. Stuff the inside tip of the cone with a cotton ball to help the cardboard keep it's peeked shape.
7. Cut a piece of silk fabric slightly larger than the pattern provided, approximately 1/4 inch around.
8. Roll this around the cone with it's right side facing the cone. Pin the edges together.
9. Sew a straight seam up the side of the fabric to a point.
10. Remove the silk cover and turn it inside out so that the straight seam is now on the inside of the fabric cover. 
11. Now insert the cardboard form and hot glue the lower edge of the fabric to the inside of the cone neatly all the way around the edge of the hennin.
12. Cut two squares of veil fabric to attach to the top of the hennin with a needle and thread. These square may be as long as you like. 
13. Pull the threaded needle through the centers of each square to neatly layer these together while attaching them to the tip top of each covered hennin.
14. Hot glue a ribbon on each side of the conical hat so that you can tie it onto the doll's head securely. The ribbon should measure approximately four inches in length on each side of the doll's head.

Barbie wears a gold lamé hennin with a sparkly star veil to compliment her pale pink dress trimmed with gold and white accents.

Each of our fashion dolls have hennins to match their princess gowns.
There are three versions photographed here in hot pink, purple and gold lamé.

This lovely princess wears a steeple headdress trimmed with embroidery.

Above is a free pattern for the body of the hennin.
 Measurements for the veil are included in the instructions above.

Spaghetti String, Summer Top for A Curvy Fashionista

This sweet little summer top is finished off with tiny blue embroidered flowers. I cut and attached these
 from a repurposed kerchief. This baby sock fits my curvy Barbie perfectly.

       This summer top with spaghetti string shoulder straps was made from a recycled baby sock and a bit of embroidery transfer. The cuff of the sock is used here as the waist edging on the doll. The toe of the sock was cut away and the raw edges were finished with a tacky white glue. As soon as the edges were dry, I finished these with blanket stitching all along the top of the garment. Then I attached some yarn at either shoulder to act as my spaghetti string straps.

Sew Sock Slacks for Fashion Dolls

Each pair of sock slacks have cute little belts made from
embroidery floss and beads.

       Make cool weather slacks for your fashion dolls from recycled long ribbed socks. Our versions may be made either by hand or on a sewing machine if you prefer.

Supply List:

• ribbed socks: grey or charcoal
• white embroidery thread
• regular thread
• tacky craft glue or no-fray 
• beads
• long paper tube
  

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Measure the length of your doll's legs and add two additional inches to approximate the length between it's belly button and it's crotch.
2. Cut this measurement from the top of a ribbed sock down.
3. Turn the sock clipping upside down so that the finished edge becomes the bottom edge of the slacks.
4. Insert a long paper tube inside the cut sock so that you can apply tacky or no-fray along the clipped edge without the glue coming in contact with any other surface. Let it dry.
5. Remove the tube.
6. Now measure approximately two inches down from the waist edge and mark this point with a stick pin.
7. You need to then sew two straight seams down the center of your sock approximately 1/4 inch apart. You can do this by hand or on a machine. Sew over these seams again to insure that these are tight.
8. Take a sharp pair of scissors and cut between the two rows of straight stitching to form the right and left sides of your doll's slacks.
9. Hand-stitch the two rows of straight seams together just above the crotch.
10. Turn the slacks inside out and finish the top waist edge with a blanket stitch using embroidery floss.
11. Fit the sock slacks to your doll by sewing a long piece of embroidery floss around the waistline with a large straight stitch.
12. Tie off each end with a bead so that the slacks tie won't slip out of place.
13. Tie the floss belt in an attractive bow.

Left,
sew two straight seams down the center of your sock approximately 1/4 inch apart. You can do this by hand or on a machine. Sew over these seams again to insure that these are tight. Center, Take a sharp pair of scissors and cut between the two rows of straight stitching to form the right and left sides of your doll's slacks. Right, Hand-stitch the two rows of straight seams together just above the crotch.

Make Rainbow Hair Extensions for Fashion Dolls

This little fashion doll is ready to go to a party. She
 wears a green and yellow, rainbow colored hair ex-
tension that took only minutes to snip, tie and clip
into place.

       Rainbow colored wigs are much easier to purchase during October and February because  these are the months that Christians celebrate All Hallows Eve and Mardi Gras in costume.

       The wig you see pictured below was purchased for $1.00 in it's original package and has never been worn previously. 

       You will also need to buy some very tiny hair clips to attach your doll's hair extensions. These may be found in dollar stores and grocery stores in hair care supply.

Supply List:

• colorful rainbow wig
• thread to match hair colors
• tacky craft glue
• sharp scissors
• mini hair clamps

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Cut a length of wig approximately 3 to 4 inches.
2. Squeeze craft glue onto the tips of the fibers.
3. Wrap the thread matching the natural hair color of your doll around the tips to hold the strands together.
4. Let the glue harden and trim off the excess tips so that these look similar to those pictured below.
5. Tuck the extension into place in your doll's hair using a colorful mini hair clip.

Left, a synthetic colored costume wig. Center, the rainbow hair extensions.
Right, colorful mini hair clips, small enough for a doll.

Sew a Jersey/Sweater for Ken or Barbie

This striped sock sweater/jersey includes a turtleneck collar and ribbing on both the sleeves and around the waist.
This sock sweater requires two socks in order to include the stripes and ribbing on the sleeves.

 This jersey (above) is sewn from a pair of socks. Sewing with sock can be tricky but the results are very pleasing. Some tips to remember:

• Sew with very small stitches and sew over your stitches several times to prevent unraveling.
• The clothes only look as good as the socks, so, use either new or like-new socks to begin with.
• Choose interesting patterns and colors that suite the age your doll represents.
• Try to avoid stretching the socks while you work with them. This will prevent oddly shaped garments.
• Use very strong thread for sock crafts such as these. Sometimes I will even use dental floss to sew with knit materials for dolls.
• Use a sticky craft glue or no-fray fabric glue when working with the knit socks to prevent unraveling. 
• Whether you use one sock or two to sew a doll's sweater will depend upon the pattern, design or size of your doll. Continuing the design of the sweater across the chest and onto the sleeve is a matter of design preference.

The candy stripped sock sweater above includes ribbing
around the waist only; plus a tiny knit belt. See directions
for her sweater skirt here.

       For this particular version of a doll sock sweater, (right) the cuff of the sock becomes the finished edge of the doll's sweater waist. The cuff provides a natural elasticity for the sweater so that the garment possess some durability when a child dresses and undresses her doll.

      There is also a tiny knit belt, cut from the former sweater. If your recycled sweater does not have a detail like this one, simply cut a bit of knit twine or decorative yarn to tie about the doll's waist instead.

Supply List:

• a pair of clean larger socks for Ken's sweater, one child's sock for Barbie's sweater version
• needle and strong thread (Use dental floss, unwaxed if you have it.)
• matching pale pink, cotton thread
• tiny sharp scissors
• a doll to measure by (I used a ken doll, made by Mattel and a lovely dark skinned Barbie.)

Step-by-Step Directions:

       Cut the child's sock into three separate pieces, two identical sleeves for the arms (from the foot of the sock) and one continuous piece for the torso of the doll, cut from the leg of the sock. (see photo below) Then thread your needle with the dental floss and sew both a straight seam and then a blanket stitch up the sides of each sleeve leaving a opening for the shoulder at the top of each sleeve and an opening at the bottom of each sleeve for the doll's hands to stick through. Sew a straight seam and a blanket stitch across the top of the neck line leaving a hole for the doll's head to fit through. The cuff of the former sock becomes the waistline opening and it is left open all the way across.

 

       Observe in the pictures below how the heal part of the sock (gusset) is left to shape the shoulders of the sweater. It is easy to notice this here because the heal of the sock is solid pink along with the waistline area. You can also observe from the close up shots that I have turned the collar back and stitched a tiny blanket seam around the neck opening.  This stitch prevents fraying, allows for elasticity, and makes an attractive, finished edge.

       To sew on the sleeves you must take a tiny pair of sharp scissors and cut out a small arm whole on either side of the sweater just below the shoulders. Be careful not to cut these openings too wide. As you sew the arm seams these openings may be stretched a bit.

       Turn the sleeves right-side-out so that the front sides are facing together as you sew around the arm whole seams. See the photo below on the far right. In the Center photo, you can see that the sweater when turned inside out, it should have all muted colors and when the sweater is turned outside in, the colors are all brilliant.

       I finished the bottoms of each sleeve on this pattern by gently rolling them up and tacking them down with a bit of cotton thread and a blanket stitch.