Dollhouse Bed Frame and Mattress DIY
If you’ve seen my other tutorial for the upholstered headboards, then your next step is to finish the bed with a wooden frame and simple mattress. Even if you are looking for a basic bed design with plans to make your own headboard (or no headboard at all), this is a simple craft with very basic materials. This size is for a full or queen bed with final dimensions approximately 4.5” x 6”.
Materials
1/4” x 1/4” square basswood strip wood (~40 inches total length)
Fabric for mattress (just a few scraps)
Sewing machine + needle and coordinating thread
Simple Bed Frame Tutorial
This simple bed frame is made from basswood strips. Cut your basswood strips as noted below:
(2) 6” long
(6) 4” long
(4) 3/4” long
Start by building a rectangle frame. The 6” long pieces will be the side rails, with each 4” long piece connecting to top and bottom, and 3 extra 4” pieces to give support to the middle. Glue the rectangle frame together using wood glue.
Once the frame is dry, glue the 3/4” legs on at each corner. And, you’re done!
Easy Dollhouse Mattress Tutorial
The mattress does require a tiny bit of sewing. But the materials are super simple and it’s a quick craft even for beginner sewists. Cut out your materials as noted below:
Fabric - 5.5” x 7”, cut 2 (includes 1/2” seam allowance”
Quilt Batting - 4.5” x 6”, cut 3
Using a bit of fabric glue along the edges, glue each piece of batting on top of each other, making a 3 layer batting sandwich. After the glue has dried, trim off 1/8” inch off every side. This takes care of any stretching the batting may have done, makes straight edges once again, and also allows for some wiggle room to slide into the mattress.
Lay your fabric pieces right sides together and sew along 3 sides, with a 1/2” seam allowance, leaving one of the short edges open. Clip the corners at a diagonal, being sure not to clip through your stitch line. Turn this right side out and iron it flat. Slide the batting sandwich inside the mattress pouch you just made. (This feels similar as to how you would stuff a pillow into a pillowcase.) Make sure the corners of the batting are tight inside the corners of the pouch. Fold your short edge that was left open to the inside of the pouch and hand sew it closed.
I failed to get good images of this next step. But you will hand sew 12 knots into the middle of the mattress to make tufts. This step is not necessary but does help the batting stay put inside and give a nice finish. Space out your 12 knots equally in a grid. I did a stitch straight down, then back up a milimeter away from the original hole. Tie a knot in the loose threads on the top of the mattress and clip your threads but leave a tiny tail of thread at each for decoration. Repeat 11 times.
Finish off your bed with some simple bedding or hand-made pillows. Attach to a headboard if you like, or call it done! Tag me in your creations on Instagram or Tiktok!