Dollhouse Construction Tips

 

Tips are in order of arrival

  1. When using fabric in a dollhouse, make a paper pattern first, and make sure the fabric fits perfectly before gluing down.

  2. Use a thick glue to glue fabric, such as Tacky Glue. Spread thin onto wood, never onto the fabric. Never use a watery glue, as it will soak the fabric and create shiny spots.
  3. When covering a large surface, such as a floor, glue half of the fabric down, and then fold it back, spread the rest of the glue, and glue that part down. Trying to cover a large surface is frustrating when the fabric sticks to the glue.
  4. Fabric will stretch when wet, so try to avoide pulling up and repositioning fabric when possible.
  5. If you have bubbles or wrinkles, use a damp (not soaking) rag to help press them out.
  6. When working with fabric and with wood, it’s a good idea to think of the future. If you don’t seal your wood, the tannin in wood will leech out and stain your fabric or paper wall covering. You intentionally do this staining when you tea dye things ( tea also has tannin in it), so if you want your piece to eventually get an aged look, then you don’t need to worry about it. But be aware that tannin is corrosive and will eventually also rot your fabric. I shy away form tea dyed things for this reason too.

    You can use fabric as is, or starch or stiffen it to make it easier to use and to line up well in your doll room, but be aware that anything you add may also add something that eventually destroys it. Some starches are very tasty to bugs so that can be a problem with fabric items that are stored a long time. Some glues will attract bugs too – I know wheat paste does! I’ve seen old doll houses with rows of nibbles on the walls for this reason. Too bad bugs can’t be trained because they could make interesting perforated paper patterns if they complied!

    If you want your piece to stay as nice as possible for as long as possible (we are talking about generations), wash the fabric to get whatever stiffener, bleaches, etc out of it before you begin. Rinse very well in distilled water, to make sure all the soap, iron, etc is out of the water. This is especially true if you live anywhere that has red soil (like the South). It’s not as big an issue of your soil is black. The red in red clay is iron that has rusted. Rust from water will yellow and eventually rot fabric too. In antique textiles you see dots of rust, or lines along the folds, where iron settles. Moisture from the air will make it continue to rust and corrode.

    I can’t recommend a safe starch or stiffener off hand, but any website with textile conservation should be able to. Stiffening your fabric will make it like paper and much easier to place on the walls, plus create a bit of a barrier against leak through glue. You just have to weigh the pros and cons and make a decision which is the lesser of evils.

    Hope that is helpful!--Laurel P.