Little Doll House Bag Pattern and Tutorial

DIY fabric dollhouse free Tutorial and Pattern | Fabric doll house

 Download Doll House Bag PDF Pattern and Tutorial 

Download instructions:  Then select “Save As” to keep a copy.  If you’re printing this out at home, make sure that your printer is set to print at 100%.  Otherwise, your house template may print out too small!

For those of you who already have fabric in your hands, there are a few things to know:

The houses are printed with bleed (just like a quilt block would be).  So you don’t want to just cut out the house as it’s printed on the fabric and stitch it together. Be sure to use the cutting instructions and template in this free pattern download.

House side walls should always be cut to measure 7 3/4″ wide x 6 3/4″ tall (using a 3/8″ seam allowance).

The house-shaped pieces should be cut with the attached template.

Tip: I like to trace my templates onto clear, template plastic and then use a rotary cutter and mat to cut out my shapes.  That way, I can line up the base of my template and seam allowance using the bottom of the potted plants and fences as a guide.  (You could probably do the same thing with tissue paper.)  Fabric gets stretched and washed a lot during printing, so this is the best way to make sure your house looks nice and straight.

BEFORE YOU CUT:  Be sure to use the provided templates and measurements when cutting out the Storybook Lane houses.  The fabric house pieces are printed with bleed, so cutting them out as printed and sewing them together will not produce desirable results.

Fabrics: 

Storybook Lane Panel - 1 panel - Cut 2 walls (7 3/4” x 6 3/4”).  Cut 2 houses using the template.

Coordinating fabric for base - fat quarter or scrap - Cut 1 base (7 3/4” x 4 1/4”).

Interfacings: 

Heavyweight Interfacing  (such as Timtex™, 20” wide) -  1/2 yard - Cut 4 rectangles (7” x 3 1/2”).  Cut 2 houses using the dotted lines on the template.

Notions: Polyl or stung
Tools: Tailor's chalk or fabric marker, chopstick (optional), hand sewing needle and thread, ruler, cutting mat & rotary cutter (recommended)

SEWING THE HOUSE

1.  Transfer dots to the wrong side of the house pieces using chalk or other temporary marking tool.  All seams should be sewn right sides together with a 3/8” seam allowance unless otherwise noted.

2.  Stay stitch the bottom edge of 1 of the exterior walls by sewing a line of stitches 1/4” from the bottom.  Sew the 2 exterior walls together along the top edge.  Press your work.

3.  Sew 1 of the house pieces to one of the walls beginning at the base and stopping when you reach the dot (figure 1).  Back-stitch, clip threads, and remove the work from your machine.  For best results, do not simply pivot your needle at each corner.  Sew the next section, beginning at the dot and stitching to the top of the roofline (figure 2).  Continue down the other side of the house until you reach the bottom.

4.  Repeat for the other house piece.

5.  Sew the base into the bottom of your work along both short edges and the long edge without the stay
stitching.  Clip corners, turn, and press. Use a needle or chopstick to gently push out the corners to get a crisp shape.

SEWING THE STRUCTURE

1.  Stack 2 interfacing rectangles on top of one another and top-stitch around all 4 sides.  This is the double base.

2.  Sew the double base to the long edge of 1 of the rectangles using a zig-zag stitch (figure 3).  Butt up the 2 pieces next to one another and allow the zig-zag stitch to straddle the 2 pieces of interfacing (figure 4).

3.  Sew the following shapes into a ring using a zig-zag stitch:  1 rectangle, 1 house piece, 1 rectangle,
and 1 house (figure 5). Trim the bottom edges if necessary to make sure they are even. 

FINISHING YOUR WORK

7.  Insert the interfacing structure into the house.  Stuff the house with polyl or stuffng.
8.  Fold down the interfacing base ap.  Press under the raw edges of the fabric by 3/8” along the opening, and slip-stich closed.

 USING THE STORYBOOK LANE PANELS

You may find it easier to trace the templates onto clear template plastic before you begin.  Try using the base of the front doors, fences, and potted plants as a guide. Line up the bottom of your template 3/8” below these motifs.