How To Make Doll Books

Welcome to Pixie Dust Doll’s official guide to making doll books!

Books are the ultimate dollhouse decorations. They make the scene so much more interesting and lifelike. They can also hint to your doll’s personality.

Does she like mind-bending mysteries? Or maybe she’s a romantic who enjoys happily-ever-after endings?

Since they are such great props, I’ve been hard at work creating a boatload of Barbie-sized books for my miniverse and yours. When all is said and done, our dolls will have a wide range of titles from every genre to choose from. It’ll be like an online bookstore for dolls! 

Most of the books are classics, like Little House On The Prairie, Jane Austen, and Sherlock Holmes, but I’ve also thrown in a few wild cards😉.

However, I doubt anyone wants to read a “How To Make Doll Books” tutorial every time I upload a new printable. That would be sooo repetitive (especially considering the number of books I plan to create). That’s why I’ve decided to write this “master guide” and refer to it when I publish new mini books.

Now, are you ready to get crafty? Head over to our Printables page and print out the book of your choice so we can get started.

All of these books are 1:6 scale–just the right size for Barbies and other 12″ dolls or figures. As of right now, the titles to choose from are:

1. Murder on The Orient Express.
2. Little House On The Prairie.
3. The Templar Treasure (by Riley Poole).

Yes, National Treasure fans, I’ve created a miniature version of Riley Poole’s book: The Templar Treasure!

This book took the longest to design but was totally worth it. I love giving my dolls ultra-unique things, and this definitely fits the bill!

Supplies Needed:

To make these doll books, you will need:

• Book printable from our Printables page.
• White Cardstock.
• A pointy tool for scoring lines.
• Scissors and/or an X-Acto knife.
• Glue: A glue stick for light gluing plus spreadable glue for binding the pages and attaching them to the cover.

How To Make Doll Books:

• On regular computer paper, print out your favorite book from our Printables and Freebies page. There are instructions for how to print our printables on the page.

• Cut out the template next to the book cover and glue it to cardstock or a recycled cereal box. We will use this to turn our books into hardbacks.

• Set the template aside to dry and cut out the book cover.

• There are lines along the cover’s spine and tabs.

• Gently score the lines using a pointy tool such as an awl or the tip of a mechanical pencil (without the lead, of course😉).

• Crease the lines down the spine, and fold the tabs to the inside (don’t glue them down yet).

The template for the cover should be good and dry by now, so let’s cut it out and glue the pieces into the cover.

• Glue the large rectangles to the front and back sections of the cover and the narrow rectangle to the spine.

• Finish the cover by folding over and gluing down the tabs.

Aw, our tiny Little House on The Prairie book is so cute! Now let’s add some pages so our dolls have something read.

• Cut out the six strips of pages from the printable.

It’s hard to see because the print is so small, but every page is filled with real words. Some even have pictures!

The Classic books have the same text as their life-size counterparts. The one-of-a-kind titles (such as The Templar Treasure) have movie quotes and excerpts from Wikipedia.

• After cutting out the strips, score the vertical lines separating each page.

• Then fold the pages accordion style.

What is an Accordion Fold?

An Accordion Fold is a method of folding a paper zig-zag style to create several connected panels that are the same size. The paper is folded back and forth multiple times into a Z or M shape. Brochures are typically folded in this manner.

• Rub a generous amount of glue over the backside (white side) of the page strip. Do not glue the first and last rectangles–just the middle ones.

• Re-fold the pages (white sides together), leaving the first and last pages loose. We will use these to add more strips and also attach the pages to the cover.

When you’re done, you should have a small stack of pages with writing on both sides.

• Now grab the second strip and glue the first page to the end of the stack you just finished.

• Continue folding, adding, and gluing the rest of the pages together. Remember to leave the last page of the final strip free.

Once you’ve finished, your booklet should look something like this:

Before sticking on the cover, we need to strengthen the spine and “bind” the pages together.

• Spread a thick layer of glue over the back of the pages to create a binding.

I like using Wood Glue for this step because it’s super strong and flexible; however, any PVA glue will work.

• Set the pages aside till thoroughly dry.

Once dry, you should be able to flip through the pages without tearing them or having them fall out.

Only one more step left, my friends: Putting on the cover!

• Spread glue over the inside of the cover, paying extra attention to the spine area. We want those pages to stay put!

You can use any glue you like for this part. I switched to Tacky Glue because I wanted something that was spreadable and dried clear.

• Press the stack of pages into the cover, laying the very first page over the inside of the cover’s front and the very last page over the back.

• Clamp the book and set aside to dry.

These books are now ready to be displayed in the dollhouse or given to your dolls to read!

I hope you and your dolls enjoy this super fun craft (mine certainly are😉).

Now it’s your turn!

Are you all reading more during this time of quarantine? I sure am!

Right now, I’m reading The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle. I’ve seen both the 1967 film and the recent one (starring Iron Man) but have never read the book, so I decided it was high time to check it out.