Recycled Cardboard - Doll Sofa

Intro: Recycled Cardboard - Doll Sofa

This is a great idea to use old cardboard box !
First, the wood to make paper is planted for , nobody is destroying the forest to make paper.
When you use wood, a tree die. Many times, you have a wood piece that was knock down illegally...
Paper materials can be recycle!
My kids played in cardboards doll houses, I make a ballet scenery with cardboard (it is more light). It is easy to cut. I love cardboard material!

You can make this in others sizes, even a normal scale (use united cardboards with a thickness about 2 cm -1 inch)

STEP 1: What You Need:

Material
Old cardboard box
A hand saw
Hot glue or PVA glue (spend more time)
A pen
A ruler
Clips that you use to dry clothes (sorry, I don't know the name in English)

Fabric enough to cover 3 pieces (a strip of 30 cm)
Plastic sponge or cotton wool

STEP 2: Cut the Pieces

Open the box and cut 3 pieces

Cut 1 piece : 32 cm X 20 cm
Cut 2 pieces : 9,5 cm X 20 cm
(the bigger measures in the "vein" direction)
With a pen and the ruler:
Piece 1: Make lines with pen in the bigger side: 5 cm + 8 cm + 7 cm + 12 cm.
Piece 2: Make a line in the middle of the bigger side (10 cm + 10 cm)
Force the pen in the lines to easy to fold.

STEP 3: Fold

Fold the piece 1 as following:

The line central in a opposite manner to parallels lines .

The central line form the back of seat. The part that measure 5 cm is a front base and, the 7 cm and the 12 cm together form the back part of the sofa.

Fold the piece 2 (2 pieces) in the middle

STEP 4: Make Soft

Use the sponge or cotton wool in the central part of the little pieces (2 cm) . Fix with PVA glue or hot glue.
In the big piece, cover with sponge or cotton the seat and the back parts. Use a little more to cover part of the back support as show in photo.

STEP 5: Cover

Cover the side with sponge with fabric using PVA glue or hot glue only in the fold lines (make finish looks better).

STEP 6: Finish the Fabric Cover

Turn on and fix the borders inside.

STEP 7: Assembly 1

Make a sandwich folding the 2 small pieces in the middle. Adjust and fix with glue. Clip until the glue dry.

Put glue in the 7cm part (back seat) and then, join with the 12 cm part as show the photo

STEP 8: Assembly 2

Fix a small piece first in the back border of sofa (preferable with hot glue) If you use PVA glue, then, find a way to fix the piece in the right place and wait dry (spend a lot of time). Make the same thing in the other side.

Make the same thing with inferior front part in the central piece and the lateral and hold on. If you use the PVA glue, fix the parts in the right place with tape and wait dry.

STEP 9: Assembly 3

OK! The sofa is formed. Now, lets reinforce it.
Turn on the sofa (down inside).
Fill the junctions with glue (this reinforce the structure of the sofa)

For make the structure more strong, put zigzag strips inside the empty space as show the photo.

Cover the base with paper.

STEP 10: It Is Done!

You make a Barbie doll sofa!

Maybe, if you increase the thickness of cardboard put together many foil, you can this sofa in a non scale size. You can reinforce the inside like a show in the doll sofa or use some strips of wood.

There were many thickness of cardboards. Cardboards used to packing dippers or refrigerators are more resistant.

Good job!


PS:- I don't know the right name of certain things. I live in Brazil and my native language is portuguese. Please, if I used any wrong name, help me.
Thanks and sorry about my English
Anne

Comments

[AnneNopper]

Muito obrigada pelos comprimentos.
Anne

[kesha81]

I was looking high and low for a design that didn't look cheesy and I must say that I love your sofa. It look pretty simple so I can try and I am going out to my local craft store ASAP to by the materials! Thanks a bunch!

[AnneNopper]

I am very happy to know that I have made an helpfull tutorial.
Once I have free time, I intend to make more.
Could you send me a photo of the sofa you'll make?
Thanks a lot!
Anne

[paulacelaya]

this tutorial is great! your english too! i live in argentina and i have two little girls, i will make this! the little brooch for the clothe is: clothespin. thank you!!

[Denger]

Prático e barato. Eu penso que muita mobília de IKEA está feita desta maneira. Instructable é bem escrito!

[clybe]

hi!! thanks for posting this masterpiece!! i design barbie clothes... and i need to setup their backgrounds there is something i would like to suggest why dont you try to put some brad so it will have a fluffy effect like this i havent posted my works yet so thank you again!!!

[Scriptone]

Thanks for sharing this I'm just starting to make minature couches now.. this is a perfect shortcut, plus looks great.

[SeaShelly29384]

Your English is fine, and if someone doesn't understand your instructions, she's not very bright! ;) Thanks for this, I'm going to try this one some day soon - I collect Barbies and I have a lot of girls with no seat at all! (It makes a great gift for fellow collectors, too..!)

[SeaShelly29384]

I tried it today, and made two lovely sofas. So cool!

[AnneNopper]

It's make me happy! Please, send photos and I add here, OK Thanks Anne

[SeaShelly29384]

Here. :) https://www.instructables.com/file/FP1OL49FWYHVI5L/ and here: https://www.instructables.com/file/FVYZG6RFWYHVI5K/

I made them narrower than your instructions, as they need to fit into a certain space. I also covered the bottom with fabric, and as you can see, I did it differently on the other... I had a longer strip of fabric, and when the sofa was finished I slid a piece of cardboard between the folds and glued that on the bottom. However I should have left the extra fabric in the front of the sofa, because folded from back to front it looks untidy. Oh well, I'll make more!

All and all, I like them a lot more than real Barbie sofas, that are plastic and way too small for the dolls!