Cardboard Box Doll Bed For Pretend Play

You and the kids can easily make a cozy bed for dolls and stuffies. Inspire pretend play with this simple cardboard box project.

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This little doll bed is a simple DIY project to inspire pretend play, an important part of early childhood development.

Pretend play helps kids incorporate the world around them into their daily play. Playing with dolls, puppets, and stuffies builds language skills and social skills as kids engage with the characters, tell stories and create events.

• Kids mimic the words and actions of others as they dress a baby doll, prepare a pretend snack, or read a book to a teddy bear. 

A doll bed is an easy prop to spark role play and support kids early development. 

You and the kids can make the doll bed together with a recycled cardboard box

Related: Cardboard Box Puppet Theater

Easy to make cardboard box doll bed

This is a very basic tutorial for a doll bed. You can easily adapt or extend our project with your own ideas.

• Elaborate on the design according to your own preference, by making it larger or smaller, adding other features, or decorating it in different ways.

Supplies for a doll bed

 

Rectangular cardboard box

Solid foam for mattress

Fabric to cover the foam mattress

Fabric for pillow

Stuffing for pillow

• See options for stuffing in the tutorial 

 

How to make a doll bed

 

Mattress

Cut out a piece of fabric to cover the foam. Allow up to 1 inch (2.5 cm) margin for sewing seams, and to fold over at the top.

With right sides together, sew three sides on sewing machine or by hand.

• This fabric piece was large enough to cover the foam in one piece, so it only had to be sewn on two sides – the long side opposite the folded edge and the bottom short side. The folded edge did not have to be sewn.
• The top edge is left open to insert the foam.

 

Pillow

Cut out a smaller piece of fabric for the pillow. Sew in the same way as the mattress cover.

 

 

Slide the mattress cover over the piece of foam.

Fill the pillow with the stuffing.

• Use cotton balls, yarn scraps, or a smaller piece of solid foam if you don’t have pillow stuffing

Fold over the excess fabric at the open end, then tuck it into the pillow or mattress. Sew by hand, or seal with two-way adhesive hemming tape.

 

 

Headboard

Cut a piece of cardboard to the width of the bed.

Draw a half circle on the cardboard with a small plate. 

Cut out the curve, then cut the cardboard to length.

 

 

 Decorate the headboard with stickers, markers, or any other materials you choose.

Attach the end of the doll bed with tape or a glue gun.

Place the mattress and pillow into the cardboard box to complete the project.

Doll bed DIY for pretend play

This cardboard box project is simple and quick. Your doll bed will be ready to use in no time.

Kids can start role playing right away – creating scenes and engaging in conversation with their dolls and play mates.

I share more ideas for cardboard box props from my blogger friends in this roundup. Try any of these projects along with your doll bed to support pretend play.