Doll Bunk Bed Makeover

I am so excited to have a big homemade Christmas project finished. I was late getting started and was getting a little unsure as to whether I would have time to finish it or not.

Janna is going to get a doll bunk bed set complete with bedding to match her room.

Here’s the great part, the only thing I purchased new was some white spray paint. Everything else was made using scrap fabric and other materials I had on hand.

Even the bunk beds were free thanks to a good friend who gave them to me a few years ago. They were in need of some repair so they sat in our workshop until I thought Janna was old enough to start enjoying them.

My husband fixed all of the broken pieces and cut some thin paneling for the base of each bed. They are really sturdy now.

I didn’t have much fabric left from Janna’s crib skirt and valance that I made before she was born, but it turned out to be just enough.

I decided to completely wing it with regards to the bedding.

The first thing I made were two “mattresses”. I had some 1″ foam left from a chair reupholstering job that I cut to the exact size of each bunk bed.

Then, I cut two pieces of fabric about 1 inch larger than the foam on all sides. I stitched them with right sides together but left most of one short side open.

Next, I turned the fabric right side out through the opening and slid the foam inside.

Finally, I folded the open end so the raw edges were inside and stitched the end closed.

The next thing I made were two pillows using fabric I had left from making Janna’s crib sheet. I made it much like I did the mattress, but this time I used stuffing instead of foam.

The picture above is the only picture I took of either process. It should help give you a better idea of what I am talking about. Just remember to put right sides together and to leave an opening for turning. Clipping the corners is a good idea, too.

Now, if you want to know more about how I made those two doll blankets here you go.

I made 8 strips of the red and 8 strips of white (leftover backing from the T-shirt quilt) per blanket that were 1 1/2 inches by 27 inches.

The next thing I did was sew the red and white strips together using a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

Then, I sewed two pairs together again using a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

Next, I stitched each group of four to another group of four in the same manner.

At this point I pressed the seams towards the red fabric so they would be less noticeable from the front.

Now I had two sets of 8 strips that I cut each into 8 1/2 inch squares.

I ended up with six squares that I arranged as shown in the picture above.

I then stitched pairs of the squares together and then finally sewed all of the pairs together using a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

I used a piece of the white fabric for the back of the doll blanket and cut it to the same size as the top of the quilt.

Then I pinned the two pieces, right sides together, but left a 4 inch opening at one short end for turning.

Now, I could have made quilt binding and gone the whole “true quilt” route. However, I opted for the “turned and topstitched” method for time’s sake.

I stitched all the way around the blanket, being sure to leave the opening, using a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

I then clipped the corners and turned the blanket right side out through the opening.

I then pressed the blanket.

The final step was to topstitch around the entire blanket using a 1/8 inch seam allowance. I also “stitched in the ditch” between each of the six blocks to keep the top and bottom together better.