How to make a sofa for dolls with your own hands: master classes

How to make a sofa out of paper using the origami technique with your own hands step by step

A sofa made of paper using the origami technique can be placed in a dollhouse, and thanks to the different colors of the material, you can choose the shade of the upholstery to match the interior of the room. Creating such a product is completely simple. Therefore, you can make a sofa using the origami technique with your children. For small dolls you should take paper 10 x 10 cm, and for standard Barbies - at least 20 x 20 cm.

The perfect DIY sofa for your interior

The sofa is one of the most important elements of the interior of any apartment or house. It should be comfortable and beautiful, durable and resistant to stains, especially if there are small children in the family. What to do if the products presented in the store cannot satisfy all your wishes, and buying a sofa created according to your order does not fit into the family budget? For a real man who knows a lot about carpentry, the answer is obvious: create a sofa with your own hands. Drawings and diagrams of a homemade piece of furniture can be very diverse, as well as its shape, texture and color of the upholstery. We'll tell you how to make your dream come true and make a sofa yourself without spending any money.

Several arguments for motivation in favor of making a sofa with your own hands:

1. Not a bad cost savings. However, we urge you not to put savings at the expense of quality. In cases where you are not sure of the result, use the services of professionals.
2. The design of such a piece of furniture will be created specifically for your interior. According to your sizes and dimensions.
3. A sofa made by yourself will always be made with high quality, because... it is you who are responsible for this aspect.
4. For production, you can use high-quality wood, environmentally friendly and reliable upholstery materials. Modern fittings will give the sofa a “professional” look.
5. Repair of such furniture is carried out at a time, because... it is much easier to do if you know where and how everything works. ​
6. By assembling a sofa yourself, you will enjoy the creative process, satisfaction from the result and, of course, increased self-esteem.
7. This is enough to get started.

If you already have a suitable project in mind, feel free to get to work. The first thing that will come in handy is a drawing of the sofa with all the necessary dimensions, as well as assembly diagrams. Drawings and diagrams can be found on the Internet or, if you have certain skills, you can create them yourself. Unfortunately, there are no ready-made programs for designing upholstered furniture, and this would greatly simplify the life of modern DIYers. We offer a number of common ideas and popular sofa shapes that can be slightly modified to suit your needs.

Step-by-step photo lesson:

Now let's open it again and bend it in half on the other side. As a result, we get two auxiliary folds.

We bend the lower part in half towards the horizontal fold line.

Then fold it in half again to the same line. We open it up and additional three fold lines are formed on the bottom of the square.

We bend one strip up, and then again.

Now you should put the triangles on the sides. To do this, bend the side parts down diagonally.

Lift up the bottom of the paper.

Fold the top of the paper towards the horizontal center fold line, closing the corners.

Fold the bottom corners up one at a time.

Bend the top corners down diagonally.

Holding the left side of the workpiece with your fingers

Bend the top corner inward.

Let's do the same on the other side.

Fold the bottom edge towards the middle, holding the side corners. This is how we will make the back of the sofa.

We turn the paper product over and straighten the legs of the sofa.

Let's turn it over again. We straighten all the corners and sides of the craft. Our origami paper sofa is ready!

DIY corner sofa (+ dimensions)

The corner modular sofa is a very comfortable thing. It is large enough to seat all guests. In addition, it can transform depending on your mood. If you place a drawer or roll-out drawer on wheels in it, you can also get additional storage space.

Drawing of sofas with dimensions

Here's what you'll need to make this sofa:

• jigsaw;
• sander;
• electric drill;
• stapler for furniture;
• sewing machine (if you decide to sew a sofa cover yourself);
• screwdriver;
• Chipboard (thickness from 12 mm);
• wooden bars with a cross section of 30x50 mm;
• plywood (from 5 mm thick);
• Fiberboard;
• cotton fabric for the back;
• metal corners, self-tapping screws;
• upholstery fabric;
• foam rubber or other filler for stuffing (holofiber, batting, coconut fiber);
• spring blocks;
• necessary fittings (for example, legs).

The list of materials depends on the result you would like to receive upon completion of the work.

Advice! Do not use nails to assemble parts. Such a connection will quickly become loose, and the sofa will creak and lose its shape.

The work order is as follows:

1. At the base of each module there is a frame made of chipboard (MDF or furniture board, at your discretion) and bars. The parts are fastened together with corners and self-tapping screws. It is preferable to pre-drill holes at the joints for screwing in self-tapping screws, which will protect the material from delamination. The bottom is covered with a sheet of thin material (plywood, fiberboard).

1. The finished box is covered with chipboard on top. There are options here. You can secure the stove completely, or you can use hinges to create a storage box. The sofa modules can, at your discretion, have hinged lids or be tightly closed.
2. The next step is to form the back. The ends of the back are fastened to the front part. Fiberboard is mounted at the back and covered with cotton fabric using a furniture stapler.

1. The back is covered with foam rubber or other filler, the ends of which are secured with a stapler. The same should be done with the outer side parts of the sofa. In the future, a cover will be pulled over the top. It can be made independently or to order.

1. The listed manipulations should be performed with all modules of the sofa.

Advice! Before assembling, make all the parts of the sofa, sand them with a grinder or sandpaper, and also treat them with a special product to protect them from mold and insects.

1. You can decorate such a sofa with pillows or other means at your discretion.

Origami furniture for dollhouse

Furniture made from paper using the origami technique is convenient for furnishing ready-made doll houses or homemade roomboxes. It is difficult to find a more affordable and, at the same time, effective way to create toys. Paper models bring aesthetic pleasure to the child, while simultaneously developing his talents, intelligence and creative thinking. And the fact that the furniture turns out to be durable and functional is an additional bonus that fuels interest in it. Some furnishings will be useful for adults, for example, practical multi-tiered chests of drawers, in which you can put any small thing: from stationery to jewelry.

The main disadvantage of purchased toy furniture is the price. However, no one guarantees that the doll table and bed will not break from too much pressure or an accidental fall. For daily children's games, it is better to make your own furnishings using the most “waste” material - paper. If such furniture is torn, it will not be difficult to replace it with new one. And to extend the service life of a paper product, it is better to take durable craft packaging for it. In addition, it has a shade of natural wood, looks stylish and holds folds well.

The best place to start furnishing is the table. You can come up with a lot of different scenes with it. The table should be proportional to the doll for which it is being made, but items that are too large become flimsy and quickly deform. The optimal square for a toy is 15 x 15 cm.

More complex products

A more difficult model to manufacture is transformable furniture, that is, a sofa bed for dolls. The operating instructions are more complex and a completely different material is used. This is necessary so that the product simply does not tear during the transformation process.

A folding sofa for dolls is best made from plywood. You will also need a furniture stapler, furniture nails, small sheds, and a jigsaw. Only one parent can do this job:

1. The details of the future product are cut out with a jigsaw: the back, side handles and three bases, one of them under the seat, and the rest will be movable. It is better if the mechanism is an “accordion” or a book.

2. The moving parts are connected with small canopies. The rest of the structure can be tied together like a puzzle or knocked together with nails.

3. When the body is ready, you can begin finishing the wood with fabric. It is better to put foam rubber under it. This will make the product safer and more realistic for the child.

Make a sofa from plywood

This sofa will become a real work of art. An analogue can be made from a dishwashing sponge. Mom will do it herself. The main thing is to think about the path of transformation. This can be seen on real sofa models.

Other furniture can be made to complement the sofa: poufs, armchairs. The principle of assembly and operation is the same as that of the main product. You can organize a whole room for your doll.

Corner sofa for dolls (2 videos)

Piano

This model can also be used as a desk. If you take a square for it, measuring at least 21x21 cm and stop at step 6, you will get a decoration-house for a puppet show.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Connect the top and bottom edges of the square sheet.
2. We mark the center of the figure.
3. We add the right and left sides to it.
4. We make folds along the dotted lines. We open both parts from the inside according to the arrows.
5. Flatten the resulting folds.
6. We get a decorative house. However, we don’t stop at this point and continue assembling the piano. Raise the central part of the workpiece.
7. Bend down the top edge.
8. We fold the sides at right angles.
9. We give the central part a horizontal position. Paste on a pre-printed image of the keys.

Bed

A bedroom set is an integral part of a modern home. It usually includes a bed and two paired bedside tables. Let's start with the main piece of furniture. The most popular bed model consists of two parts: the body and the mattress.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. For the body we use a 15x15 cm square. We outline the central axes.
2. Fold the bottom and top edges 1/3.
3. And bend it towards the central axis.
4. We fully open all the folds, and then assemble the figure with a zigzag in the direction of the arrow.
5. We outline the diagonal folds.
6. We open the sides from the inside, as shown in the diagram.
7. And flatten it.
8. We bend the right edge of the workpiece.
9. We place the triangular “legs” at right angles to the base of the bed.
10. Raise the left side up. This is the headboard.
11. We put the bed on legs.

Sofa upholstery

To create soft parts, the main material, as a rule, is foam rubber (density 35 kg/m3) in two layers. Foam rubber must be covered with non-woven material in order to avoid possible friction between the decorative covering and the base, as well as sticking, sliding and the formation of folds on the final covering of the sofa.

The upholstery of the sofa deserves special consideration. You can simplify the work and cover it with folds of fabric at the corners.

However, this is unreliable and short-lived. You should make a cover with sewn corners. This is one of the reasons in favor of a custom case. If you are not sure that you will succeed, trust the professionals, this will save time and money.

Use foam mats to make pillows. Covers for them are traditionally sewn inside out. A zipper (hidden) is sewn into the last unsewn seam for easy removal and washing of the cover.

Armchair

Among the pieces of paper origami furniture for children, the chair occupies a special place. It creates an atmosphere of comfort both in a real house and in a doll house. It’s hard to imagine a living room without an armchair; it would also be appropriate in a bedroom or office. For the most common model, you will need a square sheet of 15x15 cm.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. We start from the underside of the sheet.
2. We make a zigzag fold “mountain and valley” as shown in the diagram.
3. In this case, the square is divided into 3 sections.
4. We open the product.
5. We make a similar zigzag fold, but now vertically.
6. We open the sheet. We apply preparatory folds diagonally, following the diagram.

1. Using the lines outlined in step 6, we assemble a three-dimensional figure.
2. We bend the protruding triangular valves along the dotted line.
3. Rotate the product 90° to the right. In front of us is the left side of the model.
4. Open the right valve.
5. Glue the area outlined by the ellipse.
6. This is what should happen.

1. We close the right side. Turn the model to the other side.
2. Repeat steps 10 – 13.

The chair is ready. This is what it looks like from different sides. The model can be combined with a coffee table, sofa and other furniture, creating elegant ensembles.

Master classes on furniture making

The recommendations below discuss in detail how to make paper furniture. Based on the instructions, you can make other interior items.

Sofa

A paper sofa will fit perfectly into a doll house; before following the instructions, think about the size of the product, its color, and how it will fit into the concept of the interior as a whole.

To make an origami sofa out of paper, you should:

1. Fold the square sheet in half, then open it and fold it again perpendicular to the first fold.
2. Next you need to do some additional hemming. Fold the bottom edge to the middle fold line, then fold the same edge in this way again. The result is three folds, excluding the central one.
3. Fold the bottom strip over the first fold, then set aside two identical triangles by folding the side pieces diagonally.
4. Bend the upper part of the workpiece to the middle line, and fold the lower accordion to the end. Turn the product over.
5. Fold the top corners down diagonally, and fold the bottom corners up.
6. Turn the workpiece over, bending one corner inward, forming the back.
7. It is necessary to form the legs of the sofa by turning the product over.

The sofa will become an original art object or decoration for a toy living room, and if it is made of thick paper, the furniture will easily support the weight of the toy.

Dresser

An origami chest of drawers would also be appropriate in a dollhouse and will serve as an ideal place for storing small items.

Sofa

The simplest sofa model is assembled in just 11 steps. We use a standard 15x15 cm square for it.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. We outline the horizontal and vertical axis.
2. Fold the bottom edge 1/3.
3. Fold the product in half.
4. We bend the right and left edges by 1/3. Let's reveal.
5. We repeat the technique we used for “House”: straighten the side “pockets” and press.
6. Fold the figure along the dotted lines.
7. Raise the central lower part.
8. We bend it in half.
9. Fold the sides.
10. We omit the central part from step 7. This is the seat of the sofa.

You can make “soft” origami furniture in another way:

Sofa made of plywood or wood

Original furniture for a dollhouse can be made from pieces of plywood or carved from wood. For a doll sofa you will need poplar, maple or birch bars, sheets of plywood, paints and varnishes for wood, glue, as well as special tools (file, jigsaw, wire cutters, drill, nails, dowels, welding machine).

First, templates for the sofa parts are cut out of cardboard, then transferred to wood or plywood, cut out and secured. Armrests can be made from wooden pipes. The wooden sofa needs to be painted and varnished. To soften the sofa, the back and seat should be covered with padding polyester and covered with fabric.

It's easy to make a doll table and wooden stools that go better with the sofa.

Dresser

The unique feature of this model is that it is almost endless. Thanks to the thoughtful design, the boxes can be combined in any number or used one at a time. The model is recommended for needlewomen for storing beads, beads, rhinestones and other small decor.

In conclusion, several options for arranging origami furniture in homemade roomboxes:

Source

Decoration methods

Decorating finished products is a separate stage in the production of paper furniture.

For finishing you can use:

• self-adhesive paper for furniture (it is easy to cut, and the adhesive layer will help you decorate the surface without any problems);
• acrylic, water-based or gouache paints mixed in a 1:1 ratio with PVA glue;
• fabric imitating the structure of furniture;
• glitter and stickers;
• colored tape;
• templates;
• ribbons, lace.

You shouldn’t limit yourself to just the options listed; to create truly original furniture you need to give free rein to your imagination.