18" Doll: Doll Bed

The 3rd of 5 projects is this doll bed!

Remember that pile of cut wood?

My daughter has very loving grandparents. 

They discovered that she loves looking at the American Girl catalog, 

and so they purchased an American Girl doll for her at her birthday! WOW!

I set out to make a "home" for her doll. 

My daughter is into the "mothering stage" where she copies everything I do: 

cooking, cleaning, putting babies to bed...

I scoured the internet for doll bed plans, 

and FINALLY found one that I thought could work for me: http://sheilareinke.wordpress.com/2008/07/23/making-doll-beds/

I changed several of the dimensions and added some features to make it my own. 

Mostly I used this "plan" as a guide of where to start. 

I used her 4 "legs" for size, but everything else was changed.

SHOPPING LIST:

2x2:    2 @ 16.5" Headboard legs
2x2:    2 @ 6.5" Footboard legs
1x2:    2 @ 21"  Side Rails
1x2:    2 @ 10"  End Rails
1x3:    1 @ 14.75"  Headboard top rail
square dowel scrap
MDF:  24" x 12.75" Bed platform (with 2 -2x2- notches out of headboard end for legs)

MDF:  10"x7"  Headboard

This is the view of the notched MDF bed platform at the headboard end. (Remember: this picture also shows the square dowel glued to the 2x2 post to hold on the headboard!) The notching comes first, before the square headboard dowels. I simply stood the 2x2 board in the corner of the MDF where I wanted the leg to "pass through" on the headboard end, and drew around two sides of the 2x2. This created a square "notch" that I cut with a small handsaw. Then I checked to see if the 2x2 would fit into the opening....PERFECT!

I nailed the short 6.5" legs onto the corners of the bed platform first. Then I added the short end brace between those two legs, nailing down through the bed platform into the brace. Next I nailed on the side braces, nailing again down through the bed platform. Then I lined up the 16.5" legs at each corner of the headboard end (in their respective notches), and nailed these into the long side braces to hold them in place. Next, I nailed the short headboard end brace between the headboard legs, nailing down through the bed platform and also through the legs themselves.

This is the underside view of the legs and braces (at the headboard end).

The headboard is also scrap MDF measuring 10" x 7". I placed tiny wood (10" long) SQUARE dowels flush with the front of the 2x2 16.5" legs and glued into place. This holds the headboard into place from the front. I then glued and clamped the headboard MDF onto these dowels, and added 2 more wood dowels from the back, sandwiching the MDF between.

Backside of headboard showing square dowels holding headboard into place.

The top rail is a 1x3 measuring 14.75" long, and is centered and flush with the back of the 2x2 16.5" posts. The top rail was the last piece to be nailed onto the bed, nailing ONLY at either end DIRECTLY over each 2x2 post.

A tutorial on how to make the mattress, pillow and sheets can be found here:

http://piecesforreese.blogspot.com/2010/12/mattress-pillow-sheets-tutorial.html

You can see the doll bed as built by another reader, Noni, on her blog here:

http://nonni-and-b.blogspot.com/2011/01/doll-beds.html

She has built both Ana White's doll bed and My doll bed!  Nice job!

Please feel free to use these plans to build furniture, for sale or for pleasure, but please do not sell the PLANS as your "own".  Please also give credit to me and link back here!  I hope you enjoy them!!

***I am NOT LIABLE for any plans featured here. Please take every precaution and use your own discretion to make sure these toys are safe for children to play with them.