How To Sew A Fabric Playhouse Free Tutorial

Wouldn’t it be fun to learn how to sew a fabric playhouse for your kids? I’ll teach you step by step how to DIY a playhouse that you can set up outdoor or indoor!

 

I have been looking for an outdoor playhouse for my daughter and I couldn’t decide which one to get. There are so many to choose from and they are pricey. Searching online I came across Mia’s blog about PVC playhouse and it gave me an idea to custom sew a fabric playhouse, a one of a kind playhouse for my daughter. I followed Mia’s instructions on how to build the PVC playhouse frame and I was very happy with how it turned out. This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a penny more)!

 

I am very excited to share with you how to sew a fabric playhouse!

 

What you need to DIY a fabric playhouse

I am happy to show you how to sew a fabric playhouse!

 

Always wash and dry fabric ahead of time to pre-shrink it. Iron.

 

Walls with door and windows openings

Fold the 108” wide fabric in half lengthwise and fold it in half again. You will end up with 4 layers of fabric. If the fabric has selvages without print, keep it, it will make your work easier. Make sure that the selvages and the folded edge are nicely aligned.

Cut 2 – 58” long pieces. You will end up with 2 – 108”x 58” rectangles. Cut one of the rectangles in half. Overlock all the pieces using a zigzag stitch, it prevents fraying.

Next, cut rectangles out of the 108” wide fabric as follows:

• 2 – 20.5” x 33” (under windows)

• 2 – 20.5” x 5.5” (above windows)

• 1 – 24.5” x 5.5” (above the door)Overlock all the pieces as well.

Let’s sew the front of the playhouse with the door opening. Pin the short edge of the “above window” rectangle to the top of the “side/front” piece, right side together. Stitch. Repeat with the “front/side” piece.

Cut out trim pieces for around the door as follows:

• 1 – 28” x 2”

• 2 – 55” x 2”

Iron on the interfacing on the wrong side of every trim piece.

Make sure you flatten the seams to the side as shown in the picture. Pin the side trim pieces to the door opening first and sew it on using a zigzag stitch. Before you stitch, pin the hair elastic between fabric layers in the middle of one side, as shown on the picture, and zigzag through it. Sew on a button on the trim right where the hair elastic is.

Cut 24” x 53” piece out of the fabric you have for the door and overlock all sides.

Pin the upper edge of the door piece to the “over door” edge, overlapping 0.5 of an inch. Pin the trim on top and zigzag stitch.

Now, let’s make the window openings. Sew on the “above window” piece and “under window” piece between “back/side” and “side/front. Repeat on the other side.

Cut out 8 – 24” x 2” trim pieces for around the windows. Iron on the interfacing to the wrong side of every trim piece. Using a zig-zag stitch sew them on around the window openings. Remember to pin the hair elastics on the sides, between the fabrics, first. Sew on buttons to the side trims right by the elastics.

Cut 8” wide strips out of the flower fabric and stitch short edges together. It should make about a 6.5-yard long piece. Iron-on interfacing to the wrong side and using zigzag stitch sew it on to the bottom of the playhouse wall. Start from one side of the door trim and finish on the other side of the door trim.

Roof with gables

Out of the 108” wide fabric cut 2 – gable pieces, follow the measurements shown on the picture. Overlock all edges.

Cut out two hearts, iron on the interfacing on the wrong side, and using a zig-zag stitch sew them on to the gable pieces.

Cut 2 – 65” long pieces out of the 43” wide fabric, and the rest of the fabric cut into 9” wide strips. Sew the strips together to make 2 – 65” long pieces. Overlock all the raw edges.

Pin the selvage edges of the 43” x 65” right side together and stitch. Pin the 9” x 65” pieces to selvage edges on each side and stitch. Now, pin the gable top and side edges to the side edge of the roof piece you just made and stitch. Repeat on the other side of the roof with the second gable.

Here comes the drum roll!!! Turn the walls part, you made first, wrong side out. The best way is to lay it on the floor that the side with the door is on the top. Keep the roof part right side out and slide it inside the wall part aligning the edges all around. Make sure the heart on the gable is approximately in the same line with the door. Please take your time to PIN the pieces together first and then stitch all around.

Now, turn it right side out and get it over the PVC frame. There, you are almost done! I recommend sewing on Velcro to the bottom on each corner of the playhouse. It will make the walls look nicely placed on the frame. Right now, you can mark with a pen where you will sew on the Velcro.

Cut 4 – 4” long Velcro. Lap one end of a stiff section of Velcro 0.5” over one end of a soft section of Velcro, having hook side facing up and loop side facing down. Stitch in place using a zigzag stitch.

 

When you will take the playhouse cover of the PVC frame you can stitch the Velcro pieces in the marked places.

Curtains

Cut 2 – 4” x 22” pieces for the curtain trims and iron-on interfacing on the wrong side. Fold the short edges 0.25” over to the wrong side and iron.

Cut 4 – 20” x 22” pieces out of the fabric you got for the curtains. Overlock all edges around.

Gather two shorter edges together, lapping one curtain piece 0.5” over the other. Make the gathered edge 21 wide.

TIP: How I gather is: pull the thread from the bobbin and the spool (a little longer than the length of the edges you want to gather). Then zig-zag along the edge, making sure both threads are in the middle of the zigzag. Now, gather pulling the threads. It is very important to gather as evenly as possible. After you gather to the length you want, secure the threads rolling them over a pin and pin to the side of the fabric.

Pin the gathered curtain edge wrong side to the trim edge right side, 0.25” from the folded edge, and stitch.

Turn the trim over to the right side of the curtain, folding the edge 0.25” under, pin to the curtain making sure to cover the previous stitch. Stitch the trim to the curtain, starting from one short side and ending on the other short side. Iron the trim.

Using the snap pliers, install three sockets on the curtain trim and three studs on the inside of the window trim. Make sure they are the same distance apart. Now you can snap the curtain to the window trim.

Repeat steps 3- 6 making the second curtain.

There! You just made an awesome inside-outside fabric playhouse for your kids, where they will spend hours making memories.

What’s great about this playhouse is that you can set it up outside as well as inside. Of course, you need to have a big enough playroom, usually the basement works the best. You can also pull the PVC frame apart, wash the fabric and store it for the winter. The best part is, that it doesn’t take a lot of space to store it.

 

Free Pattern For Heart Template

Get the password for the library with the free pattern here by filling out this form:

 

I hope you enjoyed learning how to sew a fabric playhouse, and I would love to see how your playhouse turns out. Please post a picture of your work on my Facebook page. If you are looking for an easy DIY toy idea, then check my post on how to make an animal surgery patient pretend play.

Happy sewing!

 

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