Jute Rug Tutorial

Step by step instructions on how to make a modern Jute Rug for your dollhouse.

What you will need:

- Thin cardboard (cereal box or similar) or thick scrapbooking paper ;

- Ruler;

- Jute rope;

- Double sided tape OR craft glue OR hot glue gun;

For the rug in this tutorial I used my glue gun - and now I have thrown it in the bin.  I don't know who thought a hot glue gun is a good idea but I personally think they are rubbish!  I thought  it might hold my super heavy duty Jute rope better (which I guess it did....) but they are just sooooooo messy, and you need to work very quickly as the glue drys way to fast, especially for this task which is a little tricky and you need a bit of time to make it look nice.

I have made jute rugs in the past and I think the easiest option is to use double sided tape, especially if you are using the thin Jute string.

Step 1

Start by measuring the space you want the rug to fit into so you can map this out on your cardboard.

Step 2

Draw a cross in the middle of your cardboard to give you a starting point and a guide to keep your circle even once you start glueing the Jute string down.  If you deicide to use double sided tape, which I would suggest as being the easiest way of doing this for first timers, start by laying the tape out on the cardboard in a asterisk (*) shape.

Place one end of the string across your centre +, you want the 'tail' to be a little long so that you can 'run it over' with your coil and this will hold and hide the end of the string in place.




Step 3

Start sticking the string down, wrapping it around itself.  If you are using double sided tape you can take your time to ensure you are keeping your circle even, and if you go a bit wonky it is easy to pull the string up and lay it back down again.











Step 4

Now if you have had enough of gluing and sticking string down you can simply stop at a simple circle shape.  (see step 5 on how I finish off the end to stop it unravelling).

But if you want to make it look a little more fancy, you can add smaller circles.  Start by laying one out to decide how big you want the decorative feature to be, then cut 10-15 strips of jute to the same size (you may require more or less).  Cutting lengths of jute for the smaller circles makes the jute easier to work with, as well as helping in getting similar sized circles.

Keep going all the way around, try to keep turning the rug so you are working on the space in front of you, adding the smaller circles around the boarder can be a little more fiddly but don't worry too much about the 'tail' ends and where they end up because if you do a 'boarder' you can 'run' them over and tuck them away.

You will see that some of my circles go in opposite directions, but just do what is easier for you as once you lay the boarder you can't really tell which way the circles are running.










Step 5 

To finish off it is best to try and tuck the 'end' back under the outside coil.  If you can get it tucked back in towards the middle of the rug you can just tape it to the under side of the rug.

Below are 3 different rugs which I have made, The first rug is made of 3 different types of string, Jute lace (found at the local junk shop) jute string, and cotton string.
Bottom rug is just thin jute string held down with double sided tape.  The big rug is made from jute rope and I just the hot glue gun as this string was far too heavy for double sided tape.

Keeping it together

Which glue should I use?

I have had a lot of people ask me about which glue to use for various aspects of your dollhouse renovation.

And the easy answer is that there is one glue which I use for everything!

I recently brought a hot glue gun thinking I should invest in a serious tool for the amount of crafting I do and I was extremely disappointed.  Its messy, and it does not hold very well at all.  So if you were thinking of spending money on a hot glue gun, forget it!

Head to your local hardware store (Bunnings) or craft shop (Spotlight or Lincraft).

The best glue to use is a premium craft glue.  These craft glues bond pretty much everything and anything, fabric, balsa wood, poster board, scrap pad paper....

Hanging Wallpaper

The best way to give your dollhouse some character is by hanging some wallpaper.  My best tips for wallpapering your dollhouse are to use scrapbooking paper, again you can buy a whole book of scrap paper from your local craft shop (Spotlight, Lincraft and even Big W and Kmart sell a great range as well).  If you are after a wall tile print don't forget to check out my etsy shop.  If you decide to use normal xerox paper for wall paper this is also fine as long as you don't try and use childrens paper glue.  If you try and use cheap paper glue it may make the toner ink run and it will not stay stuck for long!

You really only need to dap a few decent sized dots of glue in each corner and a few through the middle.  If you are using a good quality craft glue this will be more than enough to hold it on the walls and also will not cause too much damage if you change your mind and want to remove it.

My two favourite options:

450 quick dry glue (I have purchased from Spotlight)












Boyle Craft Glue from Bunnings.  Both retail under $10 and will be more than enough to get you through a basic dollhouse reno.

Dollhouse Buyers Guide

So you want to buy (your child) a dollhouse.

You literally just walked through the door with your brand new baby girl, take a seat on the couch to research instagram for the latest and greatest baby products and you come across the modern dollhouse revival.

Firstly, YES of course you need a dollhouse in your life, (your two week old daughter may take a little more convincing) but hey, lets be honest this dollhouse business is not all entirely for the kids!

Where to start?

Serious consideration should be taken as to the type of house vs the age of your child.

Factors to consider:-
- Will the child actually play with the house
- Is the furniture and accessories safe and/or durable
- Are you going to paint/modify the house (re painting a house can be a lengthy process)
- How much money do you plan to spend

Also note that when buying these houses they are childrens toys and although I mention the scale as 1:12 they are a bit all over the place.  What I mean is that you will find that the ceiling height maybe very high and you only have a small amount of floor space.  The only dollhouse which is true to scale is the Lundby and their accessories.

I have given a brief run down on 4 options which are all available in Australia as I have owned all of theses houses so find it easier to give a review of them.  There are numerous other brands available which you should also research, not to mention local Instagram and Etsy stores.

The Kmart Dollhouse
A great starting point for very young children would be the Kmart dollhouse.  It is well priced for the quality, it includes some furniture and most of all it is pretty indestructible.  Should you wish to pretty it up a bit read my blog on The $100 Kmart Dollhouse Hack.  The Kmart house would suit 1:12 scale furniture, although the rooms are very small so you will not be able to fit too much into it.  Stick to buying the wooden furniture packs (i.e.; Le Toy Van, Hape or Saint Germaine).






Adairs Kids Heidi House
Next best option for beginners is the Adairs Heidi House, and you can buy a set of wooden furniture that goes with it.  This option is much larger than the Kmart house, the rooms can fit considerably more furniture into them.  Again for smaller children stick to the wooden furniture packs, but this house will easily accommodate any 1:12 scale dollhouse furniture.

IKEA Dollhouse Shelf
For some reason IKEA designed this as a bookshelf but it works brilliantly as a dollhouse.  Again this house is on the smaller side as it only has 4 rooms, and it is not very deep.  Will suit either wooden furniture packs or 1:12 scale furniture.  The advantage of this house is that it can be easily painted as it has a wood finish.  The other houses will need to be sanded and primed before they can be painted.





Lundy Smaland or Stockholm

I have owned both the Smaland and the Stockholm and loved both of them for different reasons.  The Smaland has plenty of rooms, and realistic opening doors and windows.  On the other hand the Stockholm has that amazing draw which hides a swimming pool (capable of holding water!!) and the trendy modern layout with rooftop verandah.  The only downside to the Lundby is that because of the 1:16 scale you are a little more restricted as to your furniture options and are best to stick with buying original Lundby products.  As the 1:16 scale is slightly smaller the Lundby (in my opinion) would be better suited to older children (say 4 years onwards) only because the Lundby furniture has far more detail and would be more practical for older kids.









Filling your house with modern minis
Once you have decided on the type of house you think will best suit your needs, you can finally move on to decorating it.  As I mentioned before, these houses are toys so scale can play up a bit when trying to figure out whether furniture is going to fit into your rooms.

First of all if you want to paint your house decide this first as it is fair easier to paint a house while it is deconstructed.  If it is already painted you will need to sand it first, prime and then paint.  This is a huge task so really take this into consideration when buying a house.

Start with deciding on whether you want to change the wall paper, try to use scrap booking paper and a good quality craft glue for the best results.  Flooring can be laid using balsa wood and I have a 'how to' on my blog.

Even if you buy all your major furniture pieces in packs, seek out local makers for all the pieces that really give it the modern twist, like miniature plants, floor rugs, wall art and of course bedding, cushions and throw rugs.

There are so many amazing mini makers on Instagram and Etsy so make sure you shop around and support your local mini makers!!!

Dollhouse comparison table

	Scale	Furniture included	Age	Can it easily be renovated	Stairs
KMART	1:12	Yes	2+	Yes	Yes
IKEA	1:12	No	2+	Yes	No
ADAIRS	1:12	Extra	2+	Yes	Yes
LUNDBY	1:16	Extra	4+	Wallpaper only	Yes