DIY Miniature 1:12 Scale BED & MATTRESS! | How to Make a Mini Wooden Bed Frame

I love miniatures and am slowly edging my way towards the big dollhouse project of my dreams, but for now I'm making miniature furniture and accessories to fill it when the time comes :D

This tutorial is all about making my own mini bed and mattress. The bed is 1/12 scale, which is the usual scale for a doll house, and the techniques aren't difficult so it's a fun project for anyone to try.

I'm going to be replicating my own double bed fairly closely, but of course you can change the design if you wish.

I hope you enjoy this Instructable!

Supplies

Wood: I used a 5 x 5 mm square stick and some approx. 2 mm (1/16") thick basswood. Obeche is also a good wood type to use. If you use a slightly thicker wood sheet (e.g. 2.5 mm) just bear in mind that a couple of the bed parts might need to be a slightly different size. Most won't need to change though.
Mitre block and razor saw: you don't have to have a mitre block, just a fine saw.
X-acto/craft knife
Cutting Mat: for protecting your work surface when cutting.
Non-Stick Mat: for protecting your work surface when glueing.
Metal ruler
Scissors
Foam: I used 1/2" foam and I wouldn't use anything thinner than this really.
Lightweight fabric: for the mattress. I used a white woven cotton.
Hand Sewing Needle & Matching Thread
All-Purpose Glue: that can be used with fabrics.
Wood Glue: I used Gorilla gllue.
Masking Tape
Dust Mask
Pencil & Eraser
Set Square
Sandpaper: I used 240 grit.
A Piece of Thin Card
Iron & Ironing Board
Paint/Varnish/Stain (optional): I didn't use a finish but you can.

Step 1: Plan the Design

For this project I am aiming to replicate my own bed in 1:12 scale, so obviously these plans are based on that particular bed shape and size. Use my cutting list to make the same style OR use measurements from a different bed to create that instead (OR make up your own design from scratch).

If you decide to replicate a different bed, the first thing you must do is measure all of the different parts of the bed (or guessimate based on average bed sizes). You'll see in the photos above that I have the original measurements (in cm) on the right of the paper, then I divide all of these measurements by 12, and these 1/12 scale measurements can be seen on the left of the paper.

Once that had been done, you can choose to simplify the design or amend it how you like. I would recommend using easier numbers for a start (i.e. you don't want fractions of a mm for instance).

I personally cut the number of slats from 11 to 8, and I added ends onto the mattress frame so I will have more surface area to glue the frame to the head & foot boards. So just think about how the bed will go together as well, as this will help you to choose practical amendments :)

Then you can work out the size of the parts you will need and what thicknesses of wood you will use. I had 4 wood pieces 'in stock' to choose from, and I chose to use 2 of those for all of the pieces.

In the last photo you'll see I also worked out the spacing between evenly-spaced parts; in this case, that's the mattress rungs and the slats.

Double check your measurements, and maybe even draw a scale diagram to be certain that everything works before you cut the pieces.

Note: The original cutting list shown above has been updated slightly since these photos so please see the next step for the revised version :)

Step 2: Cut the Pieces

To cut the wood sheet, I first drew the outline with pencil, then placed a metal ruler along the line and cut the wood with a craft knife. It took me 4 or so slices to get all of the way through. It was a bit tougher to cut across the grain at the ends of the strips.

Please note that the grain of the wood must be parallel to the longest length of any piece. I.e. the grain must run lengthwise along all of the strips. It's much stronger this way.

Also make sure you measure, mark and cut the pieces one at a time. The reason for this is that if you mark all of the strips next to each other and then cut them all, you aren't taking the width of the cut into account. So mark and cut each piece one after the other, however tempting it is to short cut this process :)

For cutting the wood stick, I simply used the mitre block and razor saw to cut through at 90 degrees.

Cutting List

From the 5 x 5 mm wooden stick, cut 2 x 94 mm lengths, and 2 x 44 mm lengths. These will be the 4 corner posts.

Then from the approx. 2 mm (1/16") thick basswood or obeche, cut the following:

8 x (5 mm x 12 mm) = Slats at the foot of the bed.

8 x (5 mm x 38 mm) = Slats at the head of the bed.

4 x (7 mm x 106 mm) = Horizontal rungs at the head & foot of the bed.

1 x (5 mm x 106 mm) = Narrower horizontal rung at the head of the bed.

2 x (6 mm x 125 mm) = Tops of the head & foot boards.

2 x (12 mm x 160 mm) = Sides of the mattress frame.

1 x (12 mm x 108 mm) = End of the mattress frame at the head of the bed.

1 x (5 mm x 108 mm) = End of the mattress frame at the foot of the bed.

2 x (4 mm x 156 mm) = Mattress rung supports.

13 x (6 mm x 108 mm) = Mattress rungs.

Note: The above list has been slightly revised since I started the project; one error has been corrected compared to the original, and I have changed one end of the mattress frame to a narrower strip. You'll see that I originally used a wider strip for this section and later had to correct it :)

Step 3: Sand

Use some fairly fine sandpaper to smooth all of the edges of all of the wood pieces.

It's also very important to make sure that all of the pieces that need to be the same length are exactly the same length. At this scale, a mm out and it will be visible.

Remember to wear a dust mask when sanding.

Step 4: Glue the Mattress Frame

Before glueing any pieces, remember to remove any pencil marks from the wood pieces with an eraser.

Then take the sides and ends of the mattress frame and glue them together with wood glue.

Make sure that the ends fit in between the longer side pieces (see the last photo), and also ensure that the corners are all right angles.

Note that one end piece will be narrower than the other pieces in your case. At this point I had all pieces the same width, but you'll see in step 6 that I rectify this.

Step 5: Headboard & Footboard

As mentioned at the beginning, I have already calculated the spacing I need between the slats in both the headboard and footboard. In my case, the gap at each side is 5 mm, but the rest of the gaps are 8 mm.

Mark a vertical line on a strip of masking tape, then measure out where each of the slats needs to be. This will be your glueing guide.

For the headboard, glue together the 2 longer corner posts and the most narrow horizontal rung piece so that they fit flush at the top, then glue on all of the slats. Try and keep the slats perfectly vertical.

Then glue on 2 other horizontal rung pieces; one directly below the slats, and one 19 mm from the bottom of the long posts.

For the footboard, do the same except with the shorter corner posts and slats, and with only 2 horizontal rungs.

Remove excess glue if you can.

Leave to dry.

Step 6: Mattress Supports & Rungs

Next, glue the mattress supports inside the long edges of the mattress frame. They should lie flat on the non-stick mat below.

Once those are stable, you can make another masking tape guide, but this time for the mattress rungs.

In my case, the gap at each end needs to be 3 mm, and all of the other gaps need to be 6 mm.

Then line up the frame on top of the tape and glue the rungs in place so they are evenly spaced all of the way along.

In the last photos you'll see that I rectified the end of the mattress frame that I made too wide. To do this, I just cut along the grain with a craft knife and then cut across the grain using my razor saw. The reason I needed to fix this was that otherwise this end would be seen through the slats in the footboard.

Step 7: More Sanding

Once everything is dry, you'll need to sand all of the pieces to make sure everything is nice and neat, and flat where it needs to be flat.

I also rounded the corners of the pieces that will go on top of the headboard and footboard. To do this, I dragged the ends of these pieces 8 times along the sandpaper, rotating the wood pieces as I moved.

Then wipe off all of the wood dust.

Step 8: Finish Glueing the Frame

Now it's time to glue the headboard and footboard to the mattress frame. Make sure when you do this that the mattress frame is the same distance off the floor at each end (and each side) of the bed. You want a perfectly level bed.

And then the last step is to glue the rounded wood pieces on top of each end, making sure they are centred.

Step 9: Cut the Foam

Mark out a rectangle on thin card that is 2 mm narrower and 2 mm shorter than the space inside the mattress frame. For me, this is 154 mm x 106 mm.

Cut this template out and glue it onto your foam.

Use scissors to cut around this template. Make sure you cut straight when cutting through the foam, and use small cutting motions to help you get a neat line.

Step 10: Sew the Mattress Cover

Place the mattress on top of a piece of fabric, so the back of the fabric is facing up.

Cut a rectangle of the fabric so that there's a couple of inches excess on each side of the mattress.

Then mark the fabric very lightly with a pencil at each corner of the mattress. Make 2 cuts towards this pencil mark at each corner, so that you are cutting out square shapes.

Then bring the 2 cut edges at one corner together - right sides together - and backstitch for a distance that equals the thickness of the foam mattress. Repeat this for every corner.

Step 11: Insert the Mattress Into the Cover

After stitching, turn this cover right-side-out and place the mattress inside.

Cut away some of the excess fabric where it overlaps at the corners. Then glue the remaining fabric flaps to the mattress. Don't wrap too tightly though - you don't want to distort the foam.

Step 12: Tufting

If you'd like to add subtle tufting to the mattress, just take a needle and thread from the back of the mattress to the front - and back again - to make a tiny stitch. Then tie the thread ends together in a knot at the back. If you want dramatic tufting, pull the thread ends tighter before knotting them together.

Repeat as many times as you wish.

Step 13: Finish the Mattress

Lastly, you can add another rectangle of fabric to the underside of the mattress to neaten it up.

So cut out a rectangle of fabric about 10 mm wider and 10 mm longer than you want the finished piece to be, then iron over 5 mm of fabric on each edge.

Cut a square of fabric out of each corner to remove the excess bulk.

Then simply add glue along the folded-over hems and press it down on the back of the mattress.

Leave to dry.