The Hazel Village animals always keep their Guest House neat and tidy, just in case some friend should happen to drop by for a visit. Yesterday, Augustus Wild Boar (who has been enjoying a leisurely stay in the Guest House) told his Village friends that he had an inkling someone new would be arriving soon. 

"I always get a tingling in my tusks when something exciting is around the bend!" said Augustus.

The other animals, who always trust one another's inklings, were quite excited by this news. They decided they ought to give the Guest House a little spruce, so their new visitor would feel extra welcome.

"Maybe the space needs some fresh furnishings," mused Gwendolyn Raccoon. This gave Nicholas Bear Cub an idea.

"I will make a new bed!" Nicholas announced. Everyone agreed this was a fine plan. The Guest House has several beds, but one of them was rather old and had gotten a bit splintery. "I'll take the old one apart and add the pieces to my project pile," said Nicholas. "They'll come in handy sometime!" (Nicholas is almost always working on some project or another in the Tinkering Yard.) 

Full of vim and vigor, Nicholas got right to work building the new Guest House Bed.  He thought to himself, "Perhaps when it is finished, I will test it out with a cozy nap." Good thinking, Nicholas!

Here is what you will need to make the bed:

• Printed PDF pattern
• Cardboard
• A pencil
• Scissors 
• Craft glue
• Tape 
• Paper
• A ruler
• Paint
• A paintbrush

An important note: the cardboard that we used to make this bed is 1/8 inch thick. We recommend upcycling whatever cardboard you already have in your household's recycling bin if possible, but you can also find cardboard sheets at your local craft store. If you decide to use a different thickness of cardboard, keep in mind that you may need to make some adjustments so that all your pieces fit together properly. 

  

First, print out the pattern and trace each piece onto cardboard. You will notice that the pattern piece for the center panel is marked 'HALF'. Trace this piece once, then flip it over to the right and trace it again to complete the shape. Do the same to trace 2 full side panels.

Once all the pattern pieces have been traced and cut out, you should have: 1 headboard, 1 footboard, 2 side panels, 1 center panel, and 6 runners. 

The runners will hold up the center panel of your bed. Glue 1 runner to the headboard, as shown in the photo below – the bottom edge should line up with the headboard's arch. 

 

Repeat to glue another runner to the footboard. Glue 2 runners to each of the side panels in the same fashion, creating 1 long runner on each side. 

Glue together the bed frame, working 1 corner at a time. The edges of each side panel should sit against the inside of the headboard and footboard, as seen here: 

Wipe off any excess glue, and tape the corner to hold it in place while it dries. Once all 4 corners are glued, the bed frame should look like this: 

 

 

Next, apply glue along the top edge of each runner and settle the center panel inside the bed frame. 

After the bed has dried, it's time to cover up the bare cardboard edges. This step will make the finished project look a lot neater.

Measure and cut out some thin strips of paper. They should be the same width as your cardboard edges, so ours are 1/8 inch.

Glue the paper strips on top of all the bare cardboard edges. Make sure to remove any tape first, so you don't accidentally glue over it. 

Once all the edges are covered and the glue has dried, it's time to paint your bed. We chose a warm ivory color, but you should choose whatever color you think your Villagers might like. Nicholas says you could even paint some decorative motifs, if you are feeling ambitious. (He is thinking he might add some more decoration to his bed tomorrow.) 

 

While your doll bed dries, it is time to make the mattress. This step is optional! If you don't feel up for a sewing project, we recommend grabbing a couple of clean dish towels. You can simply fold them and tuck them inside the bed to make a quick and comfy mattress. You can even fold a clean washcloth into a small rectangle to make a pillow. The animals support working with what you have! 

 

To make the mattress, measure and cut out 2 fabric rectangles which are 16.5x9 inches. Place one on top of the other and pin them together. (If you are using a printed fabric that has a wrong side and a right side, make sure the right sides are sandwiched in the middle.)

Sew along all 4 sides, leaving a gap of about 3 inches open on one end. Sew with 1/4 inch seam allowance (the amount of space between your line of sewing and the edge of the fabric). 

Nicholas decided he did not want to hand-sew this mattress, so he borrowed Ella Toad's sewing machine. If you are sewing by hand, we recommend using a backstitch. 

Now it's time to box the corners, which will give the mattress a uniform height. As you can see in the photo above, each corner is currently lying flat. Pull the 2 pieces of fabric away from each other to open up a corner, like this:  

Then press the corner down flat so that the seams are stacked on top of one other. Measure 1 inch across the corner with your ruler, and mark a line. 

Sew across the line you marked. 

Repeat this step to box the other 3 corners. Then turn the mattress right side out, so that the seams are hidden.

Stuff the mattress through the gap that you left open. We recommend using less stuffing than you might think you need – if the mattress is over-stuffed, it won't fit as well in the bed frame. 

Use a ladder stitch to hand-sew the opening closed. 

The final step is to add some puckers, which will help the mattress lay in a more rectangular shape instead of being rounded. 

Sew up and down through the mattress in a small X, pulling tight and tying off your thread on the bottom. We sewed 4 rows of 3 puckers, evenly spaced across the mattress.

At the last minute we decided to make a pillow too, so we cut 2 rectangles that measured 5x3.5 inches. We sewed it together on 3 sides with 1/4 inch seam allowance. Then we turned it inside out, added stuffing, and sewed it closed with a ladder stitch. 

 

And with that, this project was done! 

We used one of our printed bandanas to tuck Nicholas in. The purchase of any Villager includes one of these collectible bandanas. Just the right size for a doll blanket! 

Thank you for reading, friend! Did you make this craft at home? Send us a photo or tag us on social media @hazelvillage! If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at hello@hazelvillage.com. 

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