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March 26, 2013

Crib for American Girl doll's baby sister

Overall dimensions approx  11"d x 7"w x 9"h



This crib fits Target's Circo Mini dolls. They are the perfect size to be AG doll's baby brothers and sisters and come with all kinds of accessories (car carrier, stroller, clothes, ...) and are very reasonably priced.

What you need

  • card board (I used chip board, but you could also use thick cereal box or similar)
  • 10 wooden craft sticks (4 1/2"x 3/8") got a pack of 150 at Walmart
  • 4 wooden jumbo craft sticks (5.9" x 0.7") got a pack of 75 at Walmart
  • 22 wooden skinny sticks (5 3/4" x 1/4") got a pack of 75 at Walmart
  • 1/2" foam for mattress (6" x 10 1/2")
  • fabric to cover mattress (6 1/2" x 21 1/2") and thread
  • Elmer's glue
  • hot glue gun
  • heavy books for weighting down
  • scissors
  • shears to cut the wooden sticks with


How  to make the crib


1.  Cut the following pieces
        6x  7" x  9" (for head and foot board, 3 each)   called parts Ax
        3x  6"x 10 1/2" (bottom)  called parts Bx
        4x  1/2" x 10 1/2"  (top railings)  called parts Cx
        4x   1" x 10 1/2" (bottom railings)  called parts Dx

2. Take 3 part Ax and glue on top of each other weigh down with heavy books while glue dries.
    This will become part A1 (head board)

3. Take the other 3 part Ax and glue on top of each other, weigh down with heavy books while glue
    dries.
    This will become part A2 (foot board)

4. Take all 3 part Bx and glue on top of each other, weigh down with heavy books while glue dries.
    This will become part B (bottom)

5. Take 1 part Cx and 1 part Dx and mark on each the following
         1/4" from the end
         starting from 1/4" mark measure 1" increments all across  (at each 1" mark, mark 1/8"
         before and after, this is where each slat will go)

6. On part Cx glue 2 craft sticks end to end (you will need to cut the rounded corners off) flush with
    the top.
    Cut craft sticks to required length. Weigh down with heavy books and let glue dry.
    This will become part C.
    Repeat for another part Cx.

7. On part Dx glue 2 jumbo craft sticks end to end (you will need to cut the rounded corners off)
    flush with the bottom. Cut jumbo craft sticks to required length. Weigh down with heavy books
    and let glue dry.
    This will become part D   
    Repeat for another part Dx.

8. Take 1 part C and 1 part D and lay them parallel about 6 3/4" apart
    (make sure you are square !!!)

9. Glue skinny sticks on each mark on C and D to merge them.
    Make sure you butt your skinny sticks up to the craft sticks on part C and the jumbo sticks on
    part D


10. You can either fill the sections between the skinny sticks on part C and D with stick pieces cut
      to length or fill with glue (that is what I did which is not so good since glue shrinks, I wouldn't
      do it again with glue. I had to fill the gaps with hot glue as you can see in step 18)

11. Cover with additional part Cx and Dx respectively (glue, then weigh down with heavy books
      until glue is dry). One side is done and will be called part CD.

12. Repeat steps 7 - 11 for other side. Now you have all required parts and we can assemble.

13. On parts A1 and A2 draw a pencil line horizontally 1 3/4" from bottom. Glue a craft stick
      (rounded ends cut off) bordering the line and above. Let glue dry.


14. On both parts CD glue 2 craft sticks (rounded ends cut off) flush with bottom. Let glue dry.

15. With hot glue gun glue part CD to part A1 in a 90° angle. Make sure the craft sticks are on the
      same level. This is where the floor will go.

16. With hot glue gun glue part B (floor) to part CD (side) and part A1 (header). Make sure the floor
      is sitting right on top of the support craft sticks.

17. With hot glue gun glue part CD (other side) onto floor and part A1 (header). Make sure the craft
      sticks are on the same level and the floor is sitting right on top of the support craft sticks.


18. With hot glue gun glue part A2 (footer) to both CDs (sides). Make sure the craft sticks are on
      the same level and the floor is sitting right on top of the support craft sticks.


19. Prime and paint and you are done !!!


How to make the mattress

 

1. Cut fabric to cover mattress (6 1/2" x 21 1/2")

2. Fold fabric to get 6 1/2" x 10 3/4"

3. Sew around fabric with a 1/4" seam allowance and sew one of the short sides and the open long
    side shut. Also sew part of the remaining short side shut, but leave enough gap to be able to
    turn the fabric and get the foam inside.

4. For each corner put seam on seam and sew a 1/2" corner off

5. Turn inside out and put foam inside

6. Hand sew the opening shut and your mattress is done !!!


You could also add a bumper if you wanted to.




3 comments:

  1. Great project. I want to make this right away as a surprise for my granddaughter so I am going shopping for the required materials today. Question about the head & foot boards; how thick do they need to be? The directions say (7" x 9") but my question is (7" x 9" x ?"). Also, if I can't get chipboard can I use foam board? Thanks for your help.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are talking about part A. I used 3 pieces of chip board and glued them together to form about 3/16" thickness (that's why the directions ask for 6 pieces to be cut, 3 for the head board and 3 for the foot board). The gluing together makes it very sturdy.

      Foam board would probably work too. I don't have much experience with that. Thickness is about the same as 3 layers of chip board.

      Good luck

      Delete
  2. Very nice! I am going to try this with foam board for the headboard & footboard. Thank you for the great idea!

    ReplyDelete