Wednesday, July 27, 2016

What a clothespeg can do

My growing family of Clothespeg dolls needed a place to live, and some furniture!  The room box is a wine crate that I purchased from this Etsy seller:

The Crate People

The crate was advertised as 13" x 11" by 8" deep.  It actually measured 7" deep, but still works fine.   They have a tremendous selection of crates.  The one I bought is actually nicely finished inside; not rough at all.  It could be painted or stained, or simply sealed with varnish (not a bad idea).

But of course, a roombox needs furniture, and all of the furniture in this box was made with clothespegs and wooden plaques.  If you cannot find plaques the right size, balsa or basswood sheets are very easy to cut and readily available at your local craft store.

The Bed:


The bed was made with a single plaque 6 inches long and 2 1/2 inches wide; four flat clothespegs, and  four popsicle sticks.

Cut one leg off of each flat clothespeg, and make sure the distance from the head of the peg to the point you cut off is the same distance on each peg, and nice and flat.  The plaque will rest on this 'ledge' , and the remaining leg of the peg will be the posters for a nice, four poster bed.

Use the popsicle sticks to make the headboard (three sticks cut to size) and the footboard (one stick cut to size).  Glue the plaque to the clothespegs, let dry, then glue the popsicle sticks to the head posters and the foot posters.  After all is dry, stain or paint your bed, then antique it if you like with antiquing medium, or make a very light wash with burnt umber paint and a lot of water (thank you for this tip, Jenny!)

The mattress is a piece of Warm&Natural cotton batting, folded in thirds and sewn together on the back side, then quilted with French knots.

The Table:


The table is made with the same size plaque as was used for the bed, two spring clip clothespins, and four popsicle sticks.

Separate the spring clips so you have four table legs.  For a Hitty size table (good for dolls 5 to 6 1/2 inches tall) cut 1/2 inch off of the slender end of the table legs; make sure your four legs are the same length.  This also makes gluing the legs to the table supports more stable.

Cut two of the popsicle sticks so the are about 1/4" from each short edge of the table top (about 2" long), and glue two legs to each of these.  After these assemblies are dry, glue them to the short ends of the table top, then glue the long popsicle stick to the table leg and the bottom of the table on either side.  Let this sit upside down until dry.

Paint or stain your table, then antique or not.

The Chairs:


Each chair is made with four flat clothespegs, one 2" by 3" plaque, cut in half (one plaque will make two chair seats), and one popsicle stick.

Cut both legs off of two of the clothespegs for the front legs, and one leg off of the other two pegs for the back legs and the back vertical supports.  Cut the plaque in half so that you have two seats that are 2" x 1/1/2 ";  glue the front legs to the bottom of the chair seat.  Let this dry a bit, then glue the plaque into the back legs, letting the 'ledge' created when you cut off one leg hold the back of the seat.

Let this dry, then cut one popsicle stick to make two slats for the back of the chair and glue in place to the back of the vertical supports.   This chair could be made into a bench with a longer seat; it could also have an upholstered seat by putting a bit of batting on the seat then pulling fabric around this and gluing to the underside of the chair seat.

Paint or stain as desired, and antique or not.  You now have a full suite of furniture for your doll.

Occasional tables can be made with wood bobbins and wood scraps; a pegboard could be made with a popsicle stick and a 3/16" dowel rod.   Cut the dowel into 3/8" lengths and glue into holes drilled in the popsicle stick.

The wall quilt and the bed quilts are from some Gail Wilson projects I did several years ago.  The tea set on the table is a set of charms from Michael's, but I had to borrow a tea pot :-)  The rug was made by a dear friend several years ago, and the jug, basin, and chamber pot are bits of pottery I had about.

I plan to add a peg rack for hanging clothes, and maybe a tiny cross stitch sampler.  But for now, Ruby PegHitty and Daisy PegHitty are quite happy to take tea :-)

A couple of other Peg's found a place to explore in my fairy garden...

Ivy Peg (in the ivy dress), and Lily Peg, with the bunny, spending time in the fairy garden;  I hope you enjoy the day as much as they are :-)

15 comments:

  1. You have been busy and just so creative too wonderful job, is there no end to your talents... Amber x

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    1. Thanks so much for your sweet words, Amber :-)

      warmly,

      Beth

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  2. Thank you so much, Joyce. I was totally delighted with the wine crate that came; if you buy a 'custom' room box it will easily cost you much, much, more. Even a kit would be more expensive. And this was already constructed, and well constructed at that.

    And I'm very happy the way the little furniture turned out, and how easy it was. So happy to have you to play dolls with :-)

    warmly,

    Beth

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  3. Oh I see I have lots to catch up on! Just love all your latest creative works. Such great ideas and cute furniture...I have made a chair out of clothes pegs before, but not as 'dainty' as yours which look just perfect for the new family.

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    1. Thank you so much, Lorraine :-) I love being able to make something from found and inexpensive objects...and these fit the theme of the dolls perfectly.

      warmly,

      Beth

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  4. I really like the dresses and was wondering if you were going to post a pattern for them. I have all my supplies ready to start making the doll :). You do such beautiful work.

    Michelle

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    1. Hi Michelle,

      If you go back to this post:

      http://byhookbyhand.blogspot.com/2016/07/sidetracked.html

      You will find a pattern for underwear for this clothespeg Hitty. Most of the dresses I make are based on the camisole pattern. Just add a crochet or fabric skirt to the camisole, and sleeves or not, and you have a little dress!

      You can also find the pattern for underwear along the left sidebar toward the top, under the picture of my first clothespeg Hitty. HOpe this helps!

      Warmly,

      Beth

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  5. I have finally found your blog again! So much to see! I'm glad I have been following along on Flickr. I love everything you make!
    Please visit me anytime at dollyblessings.blogspot.com
    ~Carolyn/Bama

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    1. Carolyn, it is wonderful to know your first name! And I will surely visit you on your blog :-) Thank you for stopping by for a visit.

      warmly,

      Beth

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  6. OMG Beth!!

    This blog post is so amazingly cute! I love your little peg doll house! How long would you say it took you to make it?

    - Momma Cat

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    1. The house was the easy part; it is a wine crate from this Etsy seller:

      https://www.etsy.com/listing/264582027/wine-crates-light-colored-crates

      The furniture was quick to make; the longest part was waiting for the glue to dry :-) I think your little Peg People would love a home like this!

      warmly,

      Beth

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  7. Wow! These are all so darling! Fantastic! I am always in awe or the work that you do.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog! You asked a question on my blog this morning that I answered over there, but here's the info if you missed my answer buried in the comments. The bird houses are in our Etsy shop: EvensensProductions.Etsy.com. :)

    Hugs,
    Lois

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    1. Thank you for your lovely words, Lois, and for stopping by :-) I will check out your Etsy shop!

      warmly,

      Beth

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  8. I want to make a peg doll .... just don't feel real sure about screwing it up.

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    1. Christi, clothespegs are so inexpensive, that if you don't like your first try, just try again :-) If faces scare you, just make two dots of black for eyes, the doll will look wonderful this way.

      Jump in!!

      warmly,

      Beth

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