Usually I make doll chairs using a pre-existing structure, such as a plastic bottle, cut to shape and then covered with felt and fabric. This time, however, I wanted to try a proper chair.
I started by designing the required parts. That's actually quite easy as only the sides need actual designing, the rest are just rectangulars, and the biggest challenge is in getting the length and width right.
I cut the parts from cardboard (fairly thick, I think it came as a backing for mailed comics) and covered the insides with two layers of felt (glued in a few places to keep it in place). Note that I left some edges clear, those are the areas used for gluing the parts together.
Then I covered the pieces with wool fabric. I usually use thinner fabrics, but this suited the style of the chair best.
Here the parts are glued together to make the basic form. You can also see how the edges of fabric were cut into flaps and glued to the other side of the cardboard.
Next, I made the back piece, which is one continuous piece covering the sides and back of the chair. The cardboard pieces are actually a bit longer than the ones for the inside part for a reason I will explain later. I glued the cardboard pieces to the felt, leaving small gaps where they need to form 90 degree angles.
Next,I covered the outside of the back piece with a piece of the same wool fabric. I also glued some of that fabric to the bare parts of the already constructed "inner chair". That was to make a more even surface for gluing the back in place.
Then the back just needed to be glued in place. Here you can see why the outer pieces were longer. Once you make a rectangular piece to close the gap that will be left under the front edge of the seat, the seat will look thicker and the chair will look more authentic.
Here is a picture of the finished chair, with a doll to show the size. The legs of the chair are just round pegs cut to length, glued in place and painted brown.
