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We have had requests for information on some of the ways to start out in the doll’s house and miniature collecting hobby.  This article gives some ideas to help you during the planning stages and there will be later features on assembly of houses and room boxes, wiring, decorating internally and externally and the order in which these tasks need to be completed to make the job as simple and satisfying as possible.

Planning is fun too

I often think this is one of the most fun stages in putting together a new house, room box or other miniature scene.  I often plan houses and buildings that I never get around to building! 

I have a large folder where I keep all the designs I draw out with lots of scribbled notes for how I would decorate and furnish my ideas.  In the same folder I keep notes and sketches of items I want to make someday to include in my collection.  These notes often include web links to things I have seen that I would like to copy or adapt for my own use.  When I have the time to make something I flick through this folder for ideas.

The folder has a section with photos of my own house at various stages of development with measurements of all the dimensions of each room and colour scheme notes and samples for each room.  There is a floor plan sketch of each room showing the space occupied with current furnishings and off cuts of fabrics used etc.  I also cut out paint colour samples from the colour charts you see in DIY shops and stick these to the page for anything I can’t cut up and add a sample – for instance kitchen unit doors.  When I go to shows I take this section with me as it helps when I see something I want to buy – I can check if it will fit and also if it looks right with the colours already in a room.

If you are new to the hobby you may want to collect some dolls house images from the internet and magazines and use these to help you decide what type of house you want.  Will you have a modern house or a period house?  Will it be large or small?  Will it be a realist representation of a real house, you can even commission a copy of the house you live in, or will it be a total fantasy dwelling perhaps inspired by fiction or a fantasy from your own imagination.  A search online will show that many fictional houses have been recreated including The Hobbits home from Lord of the Rings and Hogwarts from Harry Potter.  Fairy castles are popular as are witches houses.  The choice of what can be made is endless and limited only by your imagination and your budget.

A house or a room box?

Perhaps the first thing to decide is do you want to create a full house or a room box?   Room boxes come in many shapes and sizes and can be very satisfying to work with.

If you are new to the hobby a room box could be a good starting point as these don’t take up much space and are quick to assemble and then you can get on with the bit most people find fun – decorating and furnishing.   Doing a room box, or boxes, also means you can begin to build up a small collection of miniatures which you can later use to furnish a house.   

There are room boxes available which can be added to, allowing you to create a small house later.  See Tudor Room Box

Houses

If you want a house then the first problem most people face is where will you build and then display the finished house in your real full sized home.  Many of us, myself included, dream of owning a massive stately home in miniature but a house such as this can take up a large amount of space and most of us have to settle for something smaller.  In my design folder are lots of pictures of a house I want to build one day but it is over 5’ high and nearly 7’ long so unless I win the lottery and buy a much larger home it is unlikely to progress from the planning stage!  If you are lucky enough not to be limited by real life space limitations there are many large houses to choose from.

A browse in the online shop or visit to our real shop will show you that there are lots of options available to you if space is more limited and a smaller house is an easier project for someone new to the hobby.  Who knows you may progress to a stately home or even a castle later!

Once you know what space you have and have a good idea of the size of house you want you need to consider how you want your house to look when it is finished.  If the house you have chosen is a period property will you decorate and furnish it in period style?  Remember you don’t have to – that stately home I mentioned could be inhabited by a modern day footballer’s wife who collects antiques but has a state of the art kitchen with all mod cons.  Or a rock star who has installed a music studio in one of the rooms and loves all things high tech rather than treasuring things from previous generations.

Buildings don’t have to be homes – try a business

Collecting miniatures offers a multitude of choices and you may decide you don’t even want your house to become a home – it could be a business premises.  For this type of project you can choose one of the many varied shop buildings available or you could change a house into a business.

Many houses will make good pubs or shops or restaurants/cafe.  You could have more than one business within the same building – an artist at work on the top floor, a solicitor’s office on the floor below, or even a brothel!  The ground floor could be a chip shop or a hairdressers or a bank with a robbery in progress! 

If you want a shop the choices are as endless as the shops you see on the high street or read about in works of fiction.  Cake shops and bakers are very popular choices and it is fun to make your own stock for these or build up a collection from the many items on sale.  Butchers, bakers, candle stick makers..... Naughty under wear, baby clothes, and antiques you can sell anything you like in your miniature shop even wands and magic potions!   

Special buildings

Churches in miniature are extremely popular and are often dressed with a wedding scene – you could recreate your own wedding.  The church could have a christening in progress complete with the baby in a beautiful dress or even a funeral – yes you can buy scaled down coffins!

You could turn your hand to gardening with a mini shed or greenhouse either on its own or set it within a beautiful flower garden.

Note on scale

One thing to remember when you are at the planning stages is that scale is very important. 

The most popular scale you will find available is 1/12th but there are other scales available and you need to think about the scale you want to work to before you start.  There are reasons why 1/12th scale is so popular and I would strongly advise a beginner to start with this scale.  The first reason for choosing this scale is that it is very easy to work out how big things should be to include them in your collection and if you begin to make some of your own items, which I hope you will as it is great fun.  In 1/12th scale one foot in real life is one inch in your miniature world – as the meerkat says “simples!”  Also as this is the most popular scale you will be able to find everything you want for your project easily as this size is stocked by pretty much all miniature retailers.  If you do want to make some of your own items it is also easier to work in this scale that the smaller ones which can become very fiddly.

1/24th scale has some very devoted followers and items for this scale are becoming much more readily available.  It’s main advantage from my point of view is that you can have a much “bigger” house in the same space as 1/24th is exactly half the size of 1/12th.  There are a small range of 1/24th items in our shop.

In the past 1/16th was a popular scale and if you have found an old dolls house it may be worth checking if it is 1/16th if you want to restore it and furnish.   A limited number of suppliers stock 1/16th and if you need furnishings in this scale contact us and we will try to help.

Smaller scales are becoming more and more popular and if you visit one of the many dolls house shows you will see houses in 1/48th scale (1/4 of the size seen most frequently) and even 1/144th which is the size a dolls house would be inside a 1/12th scale dolls house – you can even buy and make furnishings for these tiny houses which are often only 2” wide!

Imagination is your only limit

If you are new to this hobby – then welcome – and warning it is very addictive and you will eventually find yourself looking at life through a “miniature lens” looking to see how something very ordinary can become a beautiful miniature. (The top of the washing up liquid bottle can become a china tea pot!  Look out for a future feature!)  You may even begin to look at buildings you pass and plan how you could copy them or find yourself taking a photo of a friend’s new bathroom so you can copy their decoration scheme!

Whatever you plan to collect or create in this hobby your only real limit is your imagination – have fun.

Further reading

There are some great web sites to help you out – we hope you will book mark our’s and join the forum where you can get help and advice as well as gossip.  There will be more articles and project features appearing frequently.

Magazines have projects and ideas for those new to the hobby and the more experienced – try The Dolls House Magazine, Dolls House and Miniature Scene and Dolls House World.

Tina Holmes

Freelance writer and passionate miniaturist

www.tinastinytreats.co.uk

Heirloom patchwork in miniature - Quilt, pillows and cushions set

Patchwork has a long tradition; evidence of patchwork has been found in Egyptian tombs.  Quilts made from patchwork began to appear in households of the 11th to 13th centuries.  

This project features a traditional patchwork quilt for your miniature bed and matching patchwork cushions. 

The patchwork looks complex but if you can cut in a straight line and sew two pieces of fabric together then you can create this beautiful quilt.

Suitable Fabrics and equipment

Fabrics -

• You will need lightweight fabric in two different designs/colours – I chose one patterned with a pretty floral motif and one plain.  The design looks fantastic in satins and silks which give a real luxury feel but these fabrics tend to stretch and slip while you are working so should be avoided unless you are a very experienced needle worker, cottons and polycotton work best.  Many dress making shops sell patchwork squares with small patterns and these are ideal for working in miniature as one square is often more than enough to complete your project.  For these projects you will need two of these patchwork squares – one in a patterned fabric and one plain fabric.
• Fabric to fill your quilt - "quilt wadding" - the quilt wadding used for full sized quilts is too thick even when the lightest weight is choosen so I used fleece fabric.
• Scraps of fabric to stuff cushions and pillows

Equipment

• Sharp scissors
• Sewing needle
• Dressmaking pins
• A sewing machine makes the project much quicker but is not essential – you can sew the seams with small running stitches by hand
• Embroidery hoop if quilting by hand 
• Tape measure 

Patchwork quilt top

1. Cut six  x 6cm floral squares and six  x  6cm plain squares
2. For each square press a diagonal line across each square and cut along the line to create 2 triangles
3. With right sides facing seam each floral triangle to a plain triangle along the longest side – use 1cm seam allowances throughout this project.
4. Press seams flat and trim seam allowances to create a square as shown 
5. Assemble into strips
   • Cut 9 pieces of floral fabric 5cm x 3cm
   • Following the pattern provided assemble the squares you have made from the triangles and the 5cm x 3cm pieces of floral fabric into 3 strips – press all seams
   • Cut 4 strips of floral fabric the length of your quilt (approx 17cm depending on how accurate your seam allowances have been) and 3 cm wide – use to join the patchwork strips as shown on the pattern
   • Cut 2 strips of floral fabric the width of your quilt(approx 15cm depending on how accurate your seam allowances have been) and 3 cm wide – join to the top and bottom of your quilt

Quilt layout pattern

The Quilting Process

1. Cut a piece of fleece slightly bigger than your quilt.
2. As you quilt your piece you will be sewing through both layers of fabric – your patchwork and the fleece – so it important they do not move while you are working.  To hold securely pin both layers together at frequent intervals across the fabric.
3. For where to place your quilting stitches refer to pattern - stitch along the red lines shown.
4. To quilt by hand place your work into an embroidery hoop and sew small running stitches.
   • Sew using a stabbing action with one hand under the hoop and the other above passing the needle through the fabrics from one hand to the other.
   • Remove from the hoop and don’t leave your needle in the fabric when you are not working on your project or your work will be marked.
5. To quilt by machine use the smallest setting for straight stitch available.
   • Do not go over an area more than once as this is very noticeable when working in miniature
   • Fastened ends off by hand.
6. DO NOT press quilted section as this will flatten the texture.

Finishing off your quilt

1. Cut a piece of floral fabric the same size as your quilt
2. Stitch around the quilt and the backing fabric with right sides together leaving a gap in the centre of one of the sides to allow turning
3. Trim off excess fleece and cut each corner off – this gives a neater edge and neater corners when your quilt is finished. 
4. Turn right way out and slip stitch opening closed.

Cushions to match your quilt

This pretty pair of cushions look lovely piled up on the bed or make them in fabric to complement your living room and display them on the sofa or add one to a kitchen chair for the perfect finishing touch.

Materials

6cm square of floral fabric

6cm square of plain fabric

4 squares of backing fabric 5cm x 5cm

Scraps of fabric to stuff

Method

1. Cut your squares to form triangles and reassemble as two coloured squares as for quilt patchwork – the patchwork panel will be used for the fronts of your cushions.
2. Fold 2cm of each backing piece over and press flat.
3. Place both backing pieces over your patchwork panel right sides together and sew around the edges as shown.  Ensure the two backing pieces overlap.
4. Turn the right way out and stuff lightly with fabric scraps cut into small pieces.

Pillows and bolsters can be made using the same method as the cushions but altering the size to suit. 

Displaying your Heirloom quilt and cushions

1. Arrange your quilt and any cushions, pillows or bolster on your bed and decide if you want the top edge of the quilt to be turned over – if you do then press the turning and steam – avoid pressing the quilted area so as not to flatten the texture.
2. Cover the mattress with coordinating fabric.  You could make mini sheets by hemming rectangles but these will not be seen so I usually just cover the mattress with a rectangle which I don't even hem.
3. Miniature quilts tend to stick out at the edges due to their small size – to avoid this arrange your quilt in the position you want it and hold it in place with elastic bands before steaming and giving a light spray with spray starch – allow to dry and it will remain in the position you have now set it.
4. Add any pillows or bolster and cushions and perhaps a magazine, tray of breakfast or a good book.

The bed shown in the photo is one from the range at ABC Dolls House shop and kits of the fabrics required to make up this project are available in Tinas Tiny Treats on line shop.  This quilt set is featured in The Dolls House magazine October issue 161 which is available in most news shops including WHSmiths - the magazine is packed with lots of other features and great projects for every miniaturist.