Have you ever looked at those lovely needlework rugs and bedding wishing that you had the ability and or patience to create one for your doll house or room box? Well, if you have, I’ve got a few wonderful solutions for you!
There are several sites online with printable. In short printable are doll house items, furnishings to accessories and everything in between that you can make on your printer! Simple, but they do look pretty realistic and they are as easy as it gets to make.
Well, there’s a such thing as printable rugs and bedding. No, it’s not what you are thinking. You don’t print them on stiff and unforgiving paper, but rather on fabric. Yes, you saw right, you can stick some light weight fabric right in your printer and print on it. The result is a textured print of a rug or bedding set that drapes, feels and looks almost like the real deal.
For those wondering, no, I have not tried this method personally, as I plan to do my own sewing and needlework designs. Though, I have seen some items made by these means on sites, and from the photos they look pretty darn nice. See here for a teddy bear room box displaying a printable rug and pillow.
Another option for those without a printer or who do not wish to print on fabric is to purchase a book of iron on designs. These are pre-made quilting designs made to scale that you just need to iron right on your chosen fabric.
No Sew Quilts
Aside from using printable images for your no sew quilts, you can also use fabric glued to cardboard and woven pieces of bias binding to make your miniature quilts.
Here’s a great site showing how to make a quilt with bias binding.
No Sew Quilt Lesson
No Sew Mini Bedding Tutorial
No Sew Rug Tutorials
Bunka Rugs and Bath Mat Tutorial
Braided Rug Tutorial
Hints, Tips and Ideas
Canvas textured printer paper could work wonderfully as a rug texture. Just choose a printable with a design and texture of your choice, print out and cut out. You can even try to fray the edges like a fringed throw rug for added authenticity. (This method would also work wonderfully to make tapestry wall hangings)
Catalogs can be a treasure trove of rug and bedding ‘printable’ images. Simply cut them out and glue to a piece of thin fabric. Or, if you’d rather, you can scan the catalog images into your computer and print directly to the fabric.
Your local fabric shop is a great place to find some small furry fabrics. Choose those with a color and design you like and with a small pile. Cut to size and you have wall to wall carpeting. If you can’t find any with a small enough pile, try cutting down the pile little by little until you get the desired thickness for your carpet.
Below you will find a selection of sites that either provide tutorials how to print on fabric or printable designs that you can use to make your own bedding and carpeting, some sites include both.
Printable Fabric Resource Sites:
About Printing And Scale – Webpage about printing things to scale. Includes a small blurb about fabric printing near the bottom of the page.
Printable Quilt Designs – Features several traditional styles of quilts with printable accessories to match each design.
Printing on Fabric Tutorial – Includes an informative tutorial on fabric printing and some tips and hints from their experiences with fabric printing.
Printing on Fabric Tutorial – A tutorial about fabric printing and printing smaller scale fabric items.
Cat Themed Rug Printables – Several cat themed rugs to print for your house.
Cat Quilt Printable – Includes designs for the front and back of a miniature cat quilt.
Printable Advice – Includes a warning about inkjet printers and fabric printing, and how to remedy the issue.
Printable Hints And Ideas – Hints and ideas for using printable quilts in your home.
Printing On Fabric Tips – This site is more geared toward printing fabric for doll’s clothing, but it’s got some good tips.
Fabric Printing Site – Gives some alternate methods to print to fabric.
Printable Quilt Designs- Three designs in three different scales. Click scale of choice for the full image.
Printable Tiger Skin Rug
Printable Zebra Skin Rug
Cream Rug
Blue Rug
Printable Rugs – Six Different Printable Rug Patterns in Three sizes.
Ornate Rug
Black Rug
Round And Oval Rugs
Tan Rug
Chicken Themed Cloths and Kitchen Sets
Whatever method you choose, may you and your doll house or room box have many warm and snuggly rugs and bedding to work with!
