I often get customers of mine emailing me with photos of the stitching that they have made from my miniature needlepoint kits for 1:12 scale dollhouses and room settings. I love to see what people do with the kits that they buy from me! Before Christmas, I had several people send me pictures, and I didn’t get time to feature them here, so this blog post is a bit of a round-up of wonderful dollhouse inspiration – both the stitching, and the incredibly creative ways that they have decorated their dollhouses. Have a look at these!
Susan E. sent me this image of six copies of the blackwork sampler design which was featured in Dolls House and Miniature Scene magazine as a project (that’s my article that you can see underneath her fabric!), back in the autumn of 2017. She was making multiples of the design in order to give them as gifts in a ‘swop’ that her craft club were going to have just before Christmas. The design itself is also available as a kit, to be stitched on 28 count evenweave fabric, with one strand of Anchor thread. I think she has a lot of patience to do so many multiples of the same design!
She then sent me another image nearer to Christmas, after she had framed ALL TEN of the samplers she had stitched by then! They look amazing once they’ve been framed, don’t they? I particularly like the ones with the gold frames.
Annette J. has been a customer of mine for years, and has stitched lots of my dollhouse needlepoint designs, but even I was surprised by this picture that she sent me – I hadn’t realised how many of my Christmas stocking designs she had previously bought! These are all stitched on 40 count silk gauze. Don’t they look great together?
Another customer, Zanna B., sent me this image of a stocking as well, but this one has been personalised by her – it’s the Snowy Village dollhouse stocking design, which she has added lettering to, across the top – not easy to do, at this scale, and still have it readable (as the stocking is only 1.25 inches high when finished), but Zanna has managed it! She used the alphabet provided in one of my sampler kits (very resourceful!) to add the name of her grand-daughter to the stocking.
Sylvia B. adapted the Two Owls firescreen design to suit her dollhouse, which she is decorating to resemble her full sized cottage. She framed her firescreen with a wooden frame (whereas the kit that I sell usually has a metal frame) so that it would be authentic for her dollhouse. The firescreen design is stitched on 32 count silk gauze. The little firescreen is standing on a Carole pastel carpet, and there are two cushions on the sofa which she has also stitched. It’s a very cosy room!
Finally, Kath C. sent me these images of her dollhouse. She first stitched a staircarpet (the Carole jade design), and then made a hall runner to match, using parts of that design in her own way, to make a really beautiful long thin carpet.
In her dollhouse nursery, she has a Carole pastel carpet. I love the jigsaw on the table in the foreground!
In the entrance hallway, she has also stitched the Alison (charcoal colourway) carpet, which looks really good on the tiled floor.
I really love seeing how people use my designs in their dollhouses, so if you have made something from a kit or chart of mine, please email me pictures to janet@janetgranger.co.uk , and I might feature it on my blog at some point 🙂
I also have a section on my website for inspirational pictures sent in by my customers, so take a look at that for lots more lovely mini rooms!
If you’re tempted to buy a kit or chart of a dollhouse needlepoint design, my January Sale is on at the moment, so you could save money whilst treating yourself to some stitching goodies!
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Are you interested in doll’s houses and stitching? Then why not visit my website, where you can buy doll’s house needlepoint kits to make all kinds of soft furnishings for one-twelfth scale dollhouses. There are over 280 kits to choose from, plus chart packs, fabric project packs, tutorials, and lots of eye candy to inspire you! Kits are available on 18 and 22 count canvas, 28 and 32 count evenweave, and 32 and 40 count silk gauze, so there’s something for everyone – from beginners to experts.
Since changing the focus of this blog from just being about embroidery, to also covering my hobby (and business) of 1:12 doll’s houses, several people have contacted me to ask how they get started in this hobby. ‘Where are the best places to buy miniature things?’ is the question I am being asked the most.
So, I’m going to give you a HUGE list of websites that sell doll’s houses and miniature 1:12 accessories. These are the ones that I like – most of them are in the UK, as I am English, but I do buy from anywhere in the world, if that’s what I need to do to get exactly what I want for my three doll’s houses. Miniaturists are known to be rather particular! In the list below, the websites can be assumed to be in the UK unless a country is listed beside the name. It’s worth noting though, that these days about 99% of websites will ship anywhere in the world, so it’s not usually a problem if a supplier isn’t based in the same country as you. It just means that you might have to wait a bit longer for your parcel to arrive, there may be import taxes to pay, and of course, shipping will be higher from another country. But I’ve found that it’s not worth compromising on what you really want, in the long run.
In the list below, I have roughly grouped the themes of what the websites sell together, but it’s a good idea to browse each site anyway, as many sellers have diverse items (many unique), and I can’t describe everything that they sell, here 🙂 Also, I can’t, obviously, include absolutely every doll’s house website on the planet – this list covers my favourites only, and I have bought – or intend to buy soon – from all of these.
One thing that I have found very useful when I’m browsing websites for ideas for my doll’s houses is to save images of things that I like to a specific Pinterest board, so that I have a visual ‘shopping list’ for later. Here’s my one for my doll’s house toy shop, and the one for my miniature French cafe, to show you what I mean. As I actually buy things, I move the image to the board ‘Dollhouse miniatures I’ve bought now‘, so that I can remember what I’ve bought, and who I bought it from! Some people say I’m over-organised, but I don’t agree….
Remember that many businesses these days have Facebook pages and blogs as well as websites that they sell from – here, I’ve only listed the websites.
So, get yourself a coffee, and have a good look through this list, for ideas to get you started on the wonderful hobby of twelfth scale doll’s houses!
Karon Cunningham Miniatures. High quality items from a large range of miniaturists from all over the world. Many toys.
Karon Cunningham Miniatures
Dolls House Emporium. Good budget range for those starting in the hobby. Very large website. Over 6000 items.
Streets Ahead. Good budget range for those starting in the hobby. You can download a pdf catalogue from their website, but they don’t sell direct to the public – only via shops and other website businesses. There is a good list of stockists on their website, to help you locate your nearest shop.
Maple Street Miniatures. Good budget range for those starting in the hobby. Very large website. Stockist of Sid Cooke dolls house kits (my Edwardian toy shop is a Sid Cooke one).
Wonham Collection. Over 2000 items. Good budget range for those starting in the hobby. Very large website.
Minimum World. Large range of budget to medium priced furniture and accessories.
Dollshouse Mania. Over 12000 items in stock. Stockists of Jia Yi high quality furniture.
Art of Mini. (Germany). Many interesting and unusual items, many as kits. Flower kits, glass items, ephemera, etc. Website has an English translation.
Art of Mini
MINIATURE EMBROIDERY / NEEDLEPOINT
Janet Granger Designs. (Well, I would put my own website on this list, wouldn’t I?!) Almost 300 kits and charts for all kinds of 1:12 miniature needlepoint – carpets, bellpulls, chairs, Christmas stockings, handbags, etc. 18 count canvas to 40 count silk gauze.
My website – Janet Granger Designs
CURTAINS
Curtains-Petite. Custom curtains made to your own measurements or ready-made.
FOOD Paris miniatures. My favourite maker of food in the world! French style patisserie is their speciality. Whole large cakes, ones with a slice taken out, and ‘cakes for one’. Christmas, Halloween, Easter and Valentine’s Day ‘special ranges’ brought out each year as limited editions.
Paris Miniatures
BUILDING SUPPLIES, WOOD, PAINT, etc
W. Hobby Ltd. Kits, paints, wood strip and mouldings. Large range.
Hobbies of Dereham. Kits, paints, wood strip and mouldings. Large range.
Replicast. Plaster fireplaces, ceiling roses, mouldings, etc.
Replicast
Stacey’s Miniature Masonry (was ‘Richard Stacey’). Brick and stone cladding (real and ‘slips’ made from textured card), and roof slates.
Dolls House Direct. Houses, shops and room boxes. My miniature French style cafe/florist’s shop kit (‘Malbury’) was bought from here.
Maple Street for Sid Cooke houses. Huge range of houses, furniture and accessories. They bought up the Sid Cooke business in 2016, and are gradually revamping the range and will have the whole range of shops and houses available for sale as kits or ready-built as soon as possible.
FURNITURE
McQueenie Miniatures. Fine quality miniature furniture and kits, mainly in mahogany. Also make a gypsy caravan.
Manchester Miniatures. (USA) Kits and ready made, among a large range of items. I bought the tables for my French cafe from here (as kits).
Meirucorp Store. (China) Huge range of quite fancy/decorated furniture, similar to Bespaq.
Meirucorp
Dream Home Miniatures. Official Supplier of Jia Yi dolls house furniture and miniatures for the UK, Ireland and Northern Europe.
MICRO DOLLS FOR DOLL’S HOUSE DOLLS (under two inches high)
Tower House Dolls. Finished dolls and doll kits for Jumeau and other style ‘antique looking’ dolls – very prettily dressed. Also many other kinds of toys, such as pull-along animals, Alice in Wonderland themed toys, etc.
Tower House Dolls
Diane Yunnie. (South Africa). Very pretty Jumeau-style porcelain dolls; also doll’s prams.
Debbie Dixon-Paver. (South Africa). Finely made little dolls, very collectable! Also makes women, men and child dolls in 1:12 scale.
Artisans in Miniature (Online group for the ‘mini artisan’ community, which professional miniaturists can belong to). Its website has a good section of ‘Member profiles‘, giving details of what their members make, sorted by theme, with links to their websites, blogs, etc. They publish a really good, free online magazine for the public every couple of months, with a huge back issue section on the website also.
Pinterest is an amazing resource for doll’s house images. Not all images found on Pinterest link back to shop websites – for instance, many are from blogs (but they are also interesting!). I have found that the search results are far better if you use keywords such as ‘1:12’ rather than ‘doll’s house’, for some reason.
Good luck with your browsing!
Please note: These websites were active as at February 2017 – if you find a link that doesn’t work, please let me know by emailing janet@janetgranger.co.uk, and I’ll update the list. Thanks!
Also: I can only add websites to this list if I personally have bought from them. By all means contact me to let me know of good ones, but this list is of my personal favourites, not a general ‘free advertisement’ directory.
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Are you interested in doll’s houses and stitching? Then why not visit my website, where you can buy doll’s house needlepoint kits to make all kinds of soft furnishings for one-twelfth scale dollhouses. There are over 280 kits to choose from, plus chart packs, fabric project packs, tutorials, and lots of eye candy to inspire you! Kits are available on 18 and 22 count canvas, 28 and 32 count evenweave, and 32 and 40 count silk gauze, so there’s something for everyone – from beginners to experts.
January is the time of year for bargains! And over on my website, Janet Granger Designs, there are LOTS of bargains to be had in my January Sale.
If you are the proud owner of a doll’s house, or know someone who is, you’ll find lots of ideas for mini needlepoint kits over on the website. Here are some ideas for what you could make.
These little cushion kits are £4.45 each in the sale. They are to be stitched in needlepoint on 22 count canvas, with Anchor stranded cotton. They’re each 1 1/4 inches square when completed.
There are lots of tiny sampler kits to choose from. This one is called ‘Hearts and Flowers’, and is £8.95 in the sale. It’s to be stitched on 32 count evenweave fabric. The varnished wooden frame is included in the kit.
The teacosy and tray cloth matching designs are called ‘Crinoline Lady’. The teacosy kits are £12.55 and the tray cloth kits (including the mahogany pieces to make the tray) are £10.75 during the sale.
This Summer roses design is one of the most popular in my whole range. It appears on over a dozen different kits. These latest two are for a pole screen kit (£17.95 in the sale) and firescreen kit (£18.85 in the sale).
These little handbag kits come with either 32 count or 40 count silk gauze, depending on the design. They are £9.85 each in the sale.
Even if you’ve never made anything in this scale before, you’ll find it’s much easier than you thought. There are tutorials on my website showing you how to do the stitches and make up each type of kit. And if you need inspiration for how to use the different kits when they’re finished, you really must see the Customers’ Stitching pages, where my talented customers show off the stitching they have done, in their doll’s houses. Here are a couple:
This room was made by a longstanding customer of mine called Annette. She has stitched the Tree of Life rectangular stool in front of the piano, the Gwen carpet that the stool stands on, and the Tree of Life bellpull in the background:
Deborah has made this beautifully ornate room, and stitched the Summer Roses firescreen and bellpull from kits of mine. She also adapted the Carole pastel carpet from a chart pack, and made the design much bigger than the original, using her own choice of colours, to make this gorgeous carpet.
Tempted? Go and have a look – there’s over 280 kits to choose from, dozens of chart packs, and lots of eye candy!
I have put my Home Sweet Home workbox embroidery aside for a while, as I’ve been stitching some new miniature needlepoint designs that I’ll be bringing out as kits in just a few weeks.
I thought I’d give you a sneak preview of one of them…..
This is a design featuring two little cottages by a river, stitched on 32 count silk gauze. I am using a single strand of Anchor thread. I have stitched all of the lower half of the design, and I’ve only got the sky to do now.
The silk gauze is mounted in a piece of mount board using masking tape, to hold it taut and make it easier to stitch. All my kits come with a colour block chart to count the design from – you can see the chart, paperclipped to the side of the card mount in the top photo.
The design is made to fit in a round frame, as part of a pole screen kit. There will be eight pole screen designs, and eight co-ordinating firescreen designs launched altogether, in a few weeks, so keep your eyes open for them 🙂
If you’d like to see the other doll’s house needlepoint kits that I sell, have a look at my website.
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