My daughter rarely asks for specific toys, but this year, she asked for an American Girl doll. Even though it was terribly expensive, I caved in and got it for her. Naturally, this has sent me and my mother into a frenzy of sewing, knitting and pseudo-carpentry.

I built a bed, roughly following the guidelines posted on Doll Clothes Patterns. The base is a rectangular basket, which I purchased at Michael’s. I cut out a piece of 1″ thick foam to fit, covered it with fabric and glued it to the basket’s bottom. Finally, I painted a pre-cut sign board white and had my husband screw the board to the basket to serve as a headboard.

At that point, the bed looked pretty good, but it was missing a good blanket and pillow. In a couple of afternoons, I stitched the quilt and the little pillow.

You know what’s really fantastic about making things for dolls? You get to use up a lot of odds and ends of things laying around.

Next up: a cabled & zippered doll sweater (only the best allowed) and a soccer uniform.