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DIY Doll Bed Makeover

Lindsay Aratari

We gave this doll bed a simple DIY makeover and it came out so cute!

See my nursery ideas for Gigi’s new room HERE.

My MIL and I did this simple DIY makeover on this doll bed for all of Giulietta’s little loveys.

This post contains affiliate links.  If you click on these links and purchase something, I make a commission at no additional cost to you.  This helps to support my blog, so thank you SO much!

My Aunty Jody gave this little doll bed to me a couple of years ago, before I was even pregnant with Giulietta. She figured I might want to give it a makeover one day and she was absolutely right. She has since passed away and I think this is such a sweet piece to have in Gigi’s room to remember her by!

This is also a special makeover because I asked my Mother in Law to help me with the sewing part. She is an amazing seamstress and has made so many things over the years. It was so fun making this with her and it will be something we treasure forever.

SUPPLIES USED:

  • Doll bed

  • Vintage Gold spray paint

  • Fabric

  • Batting

  • Thread

TUTORIAL:

FOR THE FRAME:

  1. Cleaned and dried the bed frame

  2. Spray painted the bed with the vintage gold spray paint. I love the color! It’s not too shiny or glittery. It’s the perfect brassy/vintage gold color.

    • Be sure to stand about 6-12” away from the piece when spray painting and keep moving the can

    • Allow to dry completely before applying a second coat

FOR THE BED CUSHION:

  1. Measured the bed size and cut batting and fabric accordingly

  2. Pinned 3 sides together and used a 1/2” seam allowance

  3. Stitch the 3 sides together

    • Make sure you stitch the right sides together

  4. Turn it inside out and stuff the batting inside

  5. Turn the raw edge a 1/4” inside and hand sew together

FOR THE PILLOW:

  1. Determine the size of the pillow and cut the fabric

    • We did 7”

  2. For the ruffle, you want to make sure you have 1.5X the length of the pillow

    • We cut a strip of fabric 42” long and 5” wide

  3. Take the strip and fold it in half and press so you have a nice edge

  4. Turn each end two times and top stitch the edge

  5. Put a gathering stitch 1/2” down on the raw edge all along the ruffle

    • Leave long tails of thread

  6. Pull the tails until you get the desired amount of gather

  7. Take one piece of the pillow fabric and pin it to the ruffle right side up starting in the middle on the bottom

  8. Using a regular stitch, sew the ruffle to the pillow until the edges meet in the bottom

  9. Take the other pillow piece and put the right side down on top of the ruffle and pin together

    • Leave an opening at the bottom for turning inside out (my MIL does a 3-4” opening)

  10. Using a regular 1/2” stitch, sew the second pillow piece to the ruffle

  11. Turn inside out, put the batting in

    • Stuff to your desired fullness

  12. Hand sew the opening closed

MY MOTHER IN LAW’S BEST SEWING TIPS:

  • Take your time on the ruffle because it can be tricky

  • Use colored pins so that you can see them easier on cloth

  • Make sure the heads of the pins are facing you so it’s easy to pull them out

  • Use batting instead of stuffing so that it doesn’t separate

  • Husqvarna sewing machine is what she recommends

  • If you have a metal sewing machine, KEEP IT! They’re very good quality

  • Brothers Machine is a good quality, budget friendly option

  • Use the right size needle: we used a size 8

    • Schmetz needles are her fave—universal gets you a lot of needles

  • Gutermann thread is best quality—use better quality thread for better results

    • Dual Duty is another good brand (budget friendly)

  • Bent handled shears are the best for cutting fabric

    • use big cuts to get a clean edge

    • Fiskars is her favorite brand

  • Invest in a seam ripper to fix mistakes

  • Trim scissors are helpful for cutting excess thread, but not necessary

  • Use the right size hand needle for the right type of fabric

    • we used a small one so that it didn’t leave big holes

    • keep in a pin cushion so that the edges stay sharp

  • Adjust the basting stitch depending on the fabric—smaller stitch for thinner and larger basting stitch for thicker (flannel)

  • Double thread instead of single thread when hand sewing for more durability

  • Use a basting stitch for the ruffle and regular stitch for everything else

SHOP MY MIL’S FAVE SEWING SUPPLIES + THINGS WE USED HERE:

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XO
-LA

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