A Commission from Santa

And I'm back.  We've been SO busy framing our house. I'll share details later this week.  I thought I'd kick off the handmade gift parade with a special commission I received from Santa.  Dolly received a cute little Calico Critters raccoon family that her mama had as a child.  This little family needed a home...and Santa asked me to make it.

I originally found this tutorial, and have had it saved for a while.  (Pre-pinterest), which I finally transfered to my board.

Source: uklassinus.blogspot.com via Chris on Pinterest

The tutorial was a little tricky for me to understand, but after reading through things several times, and also finding Serving Pink Lemonade's version, I was ready to proceed.

My design was based on the lovely illustrations of Virginia Lee Burton from her book The Little House.  One of my all-time favorite stories.  

via The Land of Nod

Here are some more close-ups.

I enlarged the pattern a little to keep the scale the same as the little family.

If you'd like to make your own house this size the measurements were:

• 3 plastic mesh pieces at 5"x7"
• 2 plastic mesh pieces at 3 3/4" x 7"
• 2 house side mesh pieces  5"x"5 with a 3 3/4" rise on the triangle.
• roof fabrics: 5"x 8", 2 black, 1 ivory, 1 green
• inner sides: 6"x 8", 1 brown, 1 ivory, 1 green
• outer house: 17" x 8"
• house sides: 6"x 5 1/2" with 4 5/8" rise on triangle.

Here are a few more helpful hints that I used to make this little fabric playhouse.

I sewed batting slipcovers for each mesh piece.  The seams were about 1/4", which I then trimmed.

I sewed the inner and outer house pieces together before I appliqued.  (not the side pieces, though.)

Once the inner and outer pieces were put together, I applied interfacing to each.  Then I had a ball creating appliques.  I think the laundry line might be my favorite.  To make mine, I satin stitched the laundry line in grey.  Using the hem of an old sheet, I created three mini sheets that I sewed wrong side up to the line.  I then folded them down and sewed them in place with satin stitched clothespins.

I love that the house looks happy.  Ever applique was first attached with heat n bond lite, and then satin stitched into place.

Here is the kitchen design.  I created it out of felt, and used my sewing to create different areas.  It had to have an apron front sink!

By far the trickiest part was putting the house together. I got everything sewn together and turned right side out only to find out that I'd missed a seam.  I recommend folding the side pieces to the floor of the house with a strong safety pin.

I had so much fun creating this little house.  One word of caution, I think I made the elastic loops that hold the house together too loose.  When the house is closed, the sides bow out a bit more than I'd like.

All in all, I'm tickled with how it came together, and so is Dolly.

Sharing with Freckled Laundry, Tatertots and Jello, and Bubbly Nature Creations.