Scale: Choosing Fabrics for Your Dollhouse

Watch the video here.

This week I am sharing a few tips on choosing fabrics for your dollhouse. I am concentrating on the scale of the design this time, we will cover other aspects of fabric at another time.

I know that walking into the fabric store can be a bit overwhelming, especially if you are not someone that sews a lot. I have an advantage in that respect not only have I been sewing all my life my mom and my grandma were both avid seamstresses too. I practically grew up in the fabric store.

When you enter a fabric store you will be encountered by many bolts of fabric (thousands most likely) most of which will not work for miniatures. If you have the tool I show you in the video with you it will help a lot. As for picking fabric types (which will be a future video all on its own) stick with natural fibers. All of the fabrics that are in the video (except the tiny gingham) are 100% cotton quilt fabrics.

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Even in the quilt fabric department you can eliminate a lot of the fabrics at a glance. Most of them will have designs that are too large. Use your eyes and scan for designs that look like they might work. Now take out that little card stock tool and use it to eliminate most of the design from your view. Move the window around the fabric and look at different areas. By only looking at the small area in the window you can get a much better idea of how the fabric will work. Remember that the square in the card stock represents a 12” by 12” area or the size of a small pillow like you might use on a couch. Depending on what your fabric will be used for this will give you an idea of the scale. If you are making drapes or a bedspread you can use a larger design but it still can't be huge. If you are dressing a doll the print needs to be tiny, this will take some practice but you can train you eye to pick up on the scale.

Now what about other scales? Just translate the tool to the correct size for what you are working with. If you are working with Barbie or other 1/6^th scale dolls cut that opening 2” by 2”. If you are working in 1/24^th scale cut it ½” by ½” or what ever equals 12” by 12” in your scale.

One thing about working in scale is that it is easier to work in larger scales than the smaller and you will have more to choose from in the larger scales. I have successfully found fabrics for as small as 1/48^th scale with the window in the card stock method.