How to Make Homemade Barbie Furniture

You can make Barbie furniture with items found around the house. While this cardboard furniture may be less durable than store-bought toys, it's easy and inexpensive to make. This article will explain how to make a Barbie bed and chair.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Adult-sized shoe box and lid made of sturdy cardboard
• Fabric
• Marker or fabric pencil
• Soft tape measure
• Scissors
• Fabric glue or needle and thread
• Lace
• Hot glue
• Cardboard with the same height and length dimensions of the shoe box lid
• Poster paint
• Batting
• Empty salt container, cylinder shaped

Barbie Bed

1. Turn the shoe box upside down.

2. Drape fabric over the shoe box as if you were preparing to wrap a present so you can see how much fabric it will take to cover the top and sides of the box. Mark where you want to cut the fabric with a marker or fabric pencil, leaving 1/2 inch extra for a seam.

3. Cut out the fabric.

4. Fold the raw edges of the fabric over 1/4 to 1/2 inch and glue them with fabric glue, or sew the hem with a needle and thread.

5. Use fabric glue or a needle and thread to attach lace along the two long edges of the fabric rectangle and one short end.

6. Hot glue the fabric to the shoe box, making sure the fabric covers the box evenly on three sides, leaving a short end uncovered where you'll attach the headboard.

7. To make a headboard, hot glue the extra piece of cardboard to the shoe box lid so both sides are flat, like a box.

8. Paint the lid with poster paint and let dry.

9. Use hot glue to attach the painted lid to the uncovered end of the shoe box.

10. For the blanket, measure the length and width of the bed. Add 1/2 inch for seam allowance.

11. Cut out two pieces of fabric according to your measurements and align them right-side in.

12. Sew three of the sides together and turn the fabric right side out. Slide a layer of batting into the fabric pocket, and sew the fourth side closed.

13. Optional: Use fabric glue or a needle and thread to attach lace to the edges of the blanket.

14. Follow Steps 11 through 13, using measurements of your choice, to make pillows.

Barbie Chair

15. Remove the label from the salt container.

16. Measure 1 inch from the top of the a salt container and cut the top off.

17. Cut a wide U-shape from the front of the salt container, the bottom of the U ending 3 inches from the bottom of the container.

18. Use scissors to round the top edge of the salt container, which will be the back of the chair.

19. Paint the salt container with poster paint and let dry.

20. Stuff the bottom of the salt container with batting.

21. Hot glue fabric over the batting by running a bead of hot glue along the inside edge of the salt container. Make sure the raw ends of the fabric are folded under.

22. Optional: Hot glue lace around the cardboard edges of the chair to hide any roughness.

Tips & Warnings

• If you're looking for a heavy shoe box, athletic shoes often come in sturdier shoe boxes than other shoes. You may want to use sanded lightweight wood scraps for the headboard instead of a shoe box lid. You may choose to cover the headboard and chair with fabric instead of painting them.
• A Barbie bed can be made out of any shoe box, but less durable cardboard will bend out of shape more easily. Make sure to buy fabric thick enough to disguise the patterns on the shoe box.