What you can do for Barbie with your own hands: ideas, instructions, useful tips

• October 30, 2018
• Needlework
• Holly Golightly

Girls' interest in the iconic Barbie dolls has not slowed down for many decades. However, despite the huge assortment of children's stores regarding clothing and furniture for these dolls, not everyone can afford them. After all, branded clothes and household items for Barbie cost a lot of money. But don't despair. Today we will tell you how and what you can do for Barbie with your own hands.

Housing from a rack

Surely in every home there is a not-so-needed shelving unit with open shelves. Or you can buy a new one. In any case, we recommend that you use this type of furniture to create a complete home for your daughter’s dolls.

So the idea is very simple. Clear the bottom 3 or 4 shelves of the shelving unit. If possible, you can paint them. After all, it will be much more interesting for a child to play in the light or bright walls of the “house”. Typically, pink, blue, lilac, light green and white tones are chosen as the design for Barbie's home. Therefore, if your shelving is made of wood, then go to the store for paints.

Remove the top layer using sandpaper and apply paint. You can decorate all rooms (floors) in one color or in several. If you have artistic skills, paint flowers or cute designs on the walls. You can also paint windows on some of the walls. This will add even more naturalness to the rooms.

This way you will have a real box for Barbie's future house.

Advantages

Several reasons why this design is worth having:

• Convenience for mom . It happens that a baby has to be changed a large number of times. If mom does this every time, standing over the bed or sofa, her back will constantly strain. But this part of the body of a young mother is already subject to serious stress. The changing table is located at the correct height, which makes it possible not to bend your back.

A changing table is a very useful attribute for the convenience of the mother and the harmonious development of the baby. Usually in stores it costs more than a simple table and chest of drawers, so you can make it yourself. An additional advantage of this solution is the opportunity to create an unusual and beautiful table that will become the accent of the nursery.

• Safety for the baby . A changing table or chest of drawers is usually equipped with different shelves and drawers, where there is everything that little children need. Therefore, when changing clothes, the parent has access to all the necessary things, and there is no need to leave the baby to find them. This provides additional security. After all, when a child learns to roll over, he can fall at any moment.
• Child's health . Many young children need massage or recreational exercises. Due to these procedures, flexibility improves and muscles are loosened. They require a flat surface, which can serve as a changing table.

House made of boxes

Another option on how you can make the necessary base for a home for dolls. In other words, walls. You will need four tall, large shoe boxes, pieces of wallpaper, a glue gun and white paint.

Let's get started:

1. Insert one box into another so that you get the letter G. Now glue the boxes together in this way. Do the same with the other two and glue them to the first piece.

2. Cut out the wallpaper to the desired size and glue it inside the box. Make the floor from oilcloth or dense fleecy fabric.

3. Apply white paint on top of the makeshift house. And if you wish, add decor in the form of windows, doors, grass, etc. This is an easy way to make a house for Barbie out of boxes.

What is suitable for crafts?

Depending on the desired result, there are many ways to make mini furniture and accessories. You can use a variety of available tools that everyone can find at home:

1. Old CDs.
2. Carton boxes.
3. Foam sponges and more.

If the upcoming work requires a large number of details, it is better to create a sketch or drawing of the future work in advance.

Making a bed for a Barbie doll

Buying ready-made furniture for an entire house of dolls is an expensive undertaking. However, here you can do it on your own. You will need: multi-colored fabric, foam rubber and a sewing machine.

In general, in order to make a bed for Barbie in the simplest version, you need a little material and the ability to sew on a machine.

So, take an A4 sheet and place the doll on it. Did it fit? Great. Place the piece of paper on the brightly printed fabric folded in half and trace it. This will be the base of the bed. If the doll is larger than the sheet, then add the required number of cm.

Cut a rectangle of fabric and sew it along the edges on three sides. Then insert the foam inside and sew up the fourth side.

Now make the pillows for Barbie’s bed in the same way. For the inner filling of the blanket, use not foam rubber, but suitable pieces of fabric. For greater originality, you can make a double-sided duvet cover by first sewing a bag of multi-colored rectangles, and then a full-fledged blanket.

Approximate Dimensions

Before you think about how to make a table for dolls yourself and from what material, you need to decide on the dimensions. You need to start from the height of the doll itself and the size of the house. The interior will look beautiful if all the furniture is approximately the same scale and style.

The easiest way to make all objects proportionally the same is to calculate the scale. You need to divide the average height of a person by the size of the doll. You will get a number by which you will subsequently need to divide all the real sizes of the furniture to get the doll sizes.

For example, the height of a doll is 20 cm. We divide the average height of a person 175 cm by 20 cm = 8.75. The actual dimensions of human furniture must be divided by this number to obtain the dimensions of doll furniture.

On average, dolls have a size from 7.5 to 15 cm. If the doll for which this or that piece of furniture is made fits these parameters, you can use the following sizes:

• 
  Double bed - 13−16 cm.

• Single bed - 7.5−16 cm.
• Chair, stool - the back should be approximately 7.5 cm high. Place the seat at a height of 4 cm.
• Wardrobe - 16−17 cm in height.
• Sofa - 4 cm in height.
• Table - height from 7 cm.

How to make a dining table?

Thanks to the ideas of needlewomen who are figuring out how to make a room for Barbie without resorting to crazy spending, we can replicate some elements of the house ourselves.

For example, wooden popsicle sticks can be used to make a huge amount of furniture for your dolls. In addition, the wood lends itself well to painting. This means that nothing will stop you from painting your furniture white or pink.

Let's look at how to make a table for Barbie out of sticks. So, first, prepare: dry and clean sticks, a glue gun, wire cutters and sandpaper.

1. Place six sticks close to each other. This will be the tabletop of the future table. Now alternately apply a strip of glue to the side of the stick and glue it to the adjacent one. In this way, glue all the sticks to each other.

2. Take four sticks and use wire cutters to cut off the rounded ends. Do the same with the rest. And lightly file the ends with sandpaper to avoid splinters.

3. Now take four more and cut off the roundness from them. Or just use sandpaper.

4. Take two sticks with cut ends and stack them on top of each other. Then insert sticks between them like legs. Glue them together this way and glue them to the tabletop. Make exactly the same table legs on the other side.

5. Paint the resulting table with paint or varnish if desired.

Using your imagination, you can come up with other furniture for dolls made in this simple way.

We decorate non-standard furniture

After the furniture is assembled, you can move on to the decorating stage. There is no need to limit yourself here, and there can be a huge number of options. Starting from simple ones, among which we can highlight pasting with colored paper, to unusual decoration options, where we can mention painting with varnish and much more.

You can decorate assembled furniture using various techniques. Are you good at drawing? Don't deny yourself the pleasure of creating your own creation. Paint the surface some base color, and when this layer dries, apply a pattern or color image to it.

It can also be decoupage. Use multi-layer napkins with suitable patterns. A thin thread glued in several folds will look interesting.

Floor lamps made of beads

Here's another idea of ​​what you can make for Barbie with your own hands from materials that are in any home. When making a house for a doll, you want every detail to look realistic and bright. We invite you to try to build a lamp, or rather a floor lamp, for Barbie’s home from scrap materials.

Let's get started:

1. A lid from used medicine will work well as a stand. The main thing is that it is stable and has a flat surface at the top.

2. Using a glue gun, glue a round bead into the center of the lid. Place a smaller bead on it. Make a floor lamp leg this way.

3. Now take some cardboard and cut out a trapezoid. Glue its edges overlapping each other. You've got a lampshade. Then all that remains is to decorate it.

4. You can use sequins, fringe or beads for decoration. Glue any of these elements onto the resulting lamp.

Try making several lamps for Barbie's house, experimenting with the height of the leg and stand, the width of the lampshade and its decorative decoration.

Household items

You can also come up with different options for toy products and household items. For example, mold fruits and vegetables from hardening soft plasticine. Make boxes of washing powder or oatmeal from thin cardboard and advertising clippings from magazines.

What would a house be without cleaning equipment? We invite you to try making a broom for Barbie's house.

The manufacturing technique is extremely simple:

1. Take an old toothbrush and use pliers to separate the bristled head from the handle.
2. Now sand the cut area to avoid damaging children's hands.
3. Next, using a glue gun, attach a thin stick to the back of the cleaning head.

Voila, the broom for Barbie's house is ready!

Dollhouse toys

If your daughter's doll has children, then in addition to the children's room, they may need toys. And you can make them yourself. For example, to make a teddy bear, you just need to glue two ears of smaller beads to a large bead. Make the paws in the same way. Draw the bear's face with acrylic paint.

Or here’s another toy option for Barbie:

1. Take a padding polyester, a wooden stick and a light cloth.
2. Draw a horse's face on the folded fabric.
3. Cut and sew, adding padding polyester inside.
4. Leave a small hole for the stick.
5. Next, sew on the eye bead.
6. Now insert the wooden stick inside and tie it with a ribbon for better fixation.

You've got a toy rolling horse.

Origami paper chair

To work, we will need a square sheet of paper (white or colored). When choosing a size, be guided by the required dimensions of the future chair.

Scheme:

To learn how to make an origami chair, we suggest using a video tutorial. Follow MK's step-by-step instructions and the entire manufacturing process will take you no more than 10 minutes.

Video: Master classes on creating an origami chair

Clothes for dolls

Another important dowry item is clothes for Barbie. Little girls love to dress up their pets in beautiful outfits and different shoes. By playing dress-up and choosing clothes for the dolls, the young creature gets involved in the world of fashion and develops her own taste.

So, what can you make for Barbie with your own hands from wardrobe items? Almost everything, actually. With cutting and sewing skills, a needlewoman can sew almost any outfit. But not everyone has them, you say. Yes, that’s why we suggest making the simplest clothes for Barbie.

Take bright fabric and thin braid for decoration, as well as Velcro and scissors. And get started:

1. First of all, measure the circumference of the doll's chest. And also the length from the chest to the middle of the waist. Based on these data, you need to cut a rectangle from the fabric, adding 1.5 cm to the length and width.

2. Turn the edges under and stitch. Now fold the rectangle in half and sew to the middle. Sew Velcro onto each side.

3. Now it’s time for the skirt from the Barbie outfit. Measure the size you need and cut a semicircle from the fabric with a semicircular notch along the edge. Sew the edges and make light grabs along the waistband using thread. This will give the skirt a fuller look. Now bring it together and sew the two sides.

4. Attach to the top of the dress and sew these two elements together. Also sew a thin lace braid along the edge of the top and hem. And a bow on the belt. A simple dress is ready! All that remains is to try it on the doll.

Plasticine fantasies

1. Plasticine is an excellent material for creativity and creating minimalistic, precise objects.
2. Girls enthusiastically make crafts from plasticine for dolls.
3. Using modern types of plastic masses, clay, dough, you can create various clothes for dolls.
4. After hardening, its properties are in no way different from clothes made from traditional materials.
5. Shoes and handbags, jewelry and gadgets, all this can be made from plasticine as closely as possible to the real thing.

Food made from plasticine turns out bright and appetizing. With its help, you can set the table for the doll and her guests, serving various dishes, make dishes, a vase of flowers and many other useful things. What else to do for a doll world made of plasticine, your imagination will tell you.

Barbie mobile

The second most popular dream of many girls after a house for their pets is Barbie’s personal car. However, the prices for cars are quite high, which means that few can afford them. But fortunately, there is nothing that cannot be done with your own hands at a minimum cost. This also applies to the car for Barbie dolls.

There are quite a few ways to create a personal car for a doll. But, as usual, we will consider the easiest one. Even a beginner can cope with a similar task.

How to make a car?

For the Barbie mobile, prepare the following: a box with a lid (medium size), a set of large rhinestones, foam rubber, black fabric, glossy paper in black and pink, cardboard, foil, corduroy, scissors, glue gun.

Sequencing:

1. First you need to decide how the seats will be arranged in the car. In any case, the driver's seat should be no closer than halfway from the edge of the box. Remember that the main task is to fit the doll's legs. And Barbie's are quite long. You can also do the rear seats, but they will have a decorative function. Or serve as a place for small dolls and things for a Barbie doll.

2. Remove the lid of the box and, turning it over, draw an oval. Leaving 5-7 cm from each edge. Cut it out.

3. Take pink paper and cover the lid of the box. Set it aside for now.

4. Start making the insides of the car. First, cover the box with paper with a zebra stripe. Cut out a rectangle and glue it approximately in the middle of the box. This will be the door. Cut out four black circles and glue them to the box as well. This is what the wheels of the car will look like.

5. Take black fabric, foam rubber and cardboard. Cut out the backs of the front seats from cardboard. You can make them merged, then you will get a cast back of the sofa. Since the cardboard is quite soft, glue several identical backs together. Don't forget to calculate the length so that the back of the chairs can be placed and glued to the bottom of the box. Glue foam rubber onto the backs, following the shape. And then cover it with black fabric, sewing the ends together by hand. Glue the seats to the bottom of the car. If desired, do the same at the back.

6. You can use a transparent table stand as the windshield of a convertible. Cut out a trapezoid with rounded edges and glue it to the inside of the car. Decorate with small rhinestones along the contour.

7. Now proceed to the headlights. We suggest making them not flat stickers on the front, but fabulous and voluminous. Cut out two small circles from cardboard. Make flower silhouettes with petals from both. Now cut two squares from the foil, twice the length of the flowers. Wrap the cardboard in foil, carefully bending the ends. Next, cut a strip of thick black corduroy. Make frequent cuts on it with scissors and fold it in a circle so that you can glue a circle of white cardboard with a drawn eye in the center.

All gluing actions are performed with a glue gun.

Car decor

When the main and most difficult part of the work is completed, you can start decorating the car. As mentioned above, you will need rhinestones for decoration. But you can also use braid, sequins, beautiful flat buttons, original stickers, etc.

Apply a thin line of the future pattern with a glue gun. It can be either smooth with curls or geometric.

Glue pink circles of smaller diameter in the center of the wheels and also decorate them with rhinestones.

This is just a little that you can do for Barbie with your own hands with minimal time and money.