Home-Made Toys for Girls and Boys/Chapter 19
CHAPTER XIX
HOME-MADE SPOOL AND CARDBOARD TOYS
All that is required for making the little toys shown in this chapter are spools, cardboard, paper, a straight-grained stick out of which to cut pegs, some tacks, pins, and glue.
Fig. 299.—Doll Carriage.
Did you ever see a better model of
A Baby Carriage than that shown in Fig. 299, with its rounded ends, arched bottom, and adjustable hood? It is easy to make.
Figure 300 shows the details for constructing the carriage body. Cut four wooden pegs to fit loosely in the holes of four spools of equal size, and make them of the right length so when slipped into the holes their ends will project about ¼ inch beyond the spool ends. Then cut the bottom strip B 5 inches long by the width of the spools, bend it slightly
Figs. 300-302.—Details of Doll Carriage.
as shown, to give a curve to the carriage bottom, and tack the ends of the strip to two of the spools (A).
The sides C are of cardboard and should be 1½ inches wide at the widest point, by the length of the carriage body. Punch holes through these side pieces in the right places for the ends of the pegs in spools A to stick through.
Before fastening the side pieces to spools A, you must attach the wheels (Figs. 301 and 302). Cut the cardboard uprights D 3½ inches long and ½ inch wide; then after cutting holes through each near the ends, for the spool pegs to slip through, cut down the width between the holes to about ¼ inch (Fig. 302). Slip the lower ends of uprights D
Fig. 303.—Baby Carriage Hood.
Fig. 304.—Diagram of Hood.
Fig. 305.—Carriage Handles.
over the pegs in spool wheels E, then the upper ends over the pegs in spools A. Glue the upper ends to the ends of spools A, then slip the carriage sides C over the pegs of spools A, and glue them in place.
The carriage hood (Fig. 303) is made of a piece of stiff paper about 4½ inches square (Fig. 304), slashed in three places along two opposite edges for a distance of about 1½ inches, and then folded over as indicated by dotted lines. Bring together the ends of the slashed edges of the piece of paper, as shown in Fig. 303, coat them with glue, and press together until the glue has dried. Punch a hole through each side of the top, as shown, for the projecting ends of the spool peg to slip through.
Fig. 306.—The Two-Wheel Cart.
Fig. 307-309.—Details of Cart.
The carriage handle is made of two cardboard strips (F, Fig. 305), and a match (G). Stick the match through holes made near the ends of strips F, and glue the lower ends of the strips to the inside face of the sides (Fig. 299). This completes the carriage.
The Two-Wheel Cart (Fig. 306) is made of a small box cover, and one of the spools on which crochet-cotton comes. Prepare a bent piece of cardboard like that shown in Fig. 308, with ends A turned down at the proper points so there will be only room enough between them for the spool to turn freely. Punch a hole through each turned down end for a stick axle to run through. Then cut two slots through the box cover the same distance apart as ends A (Fig. 307),
Fig. 310.—Merry-go-round.
Fig. 311.—Teeter.
Fig. 312.—Cardboard Strip for Merry-go-round and Teeter.
centering the pair both crosswise and lengthwise of the cover, and stick ends A through the slots and glue portion B to the cover. Cut the wheel axle enough smaller than the spool hole so the spool will turn easily, then push it through the hole in the spool and the holes in ends A.
Fig. 313.—Boy and Girl Riders for Merry-go-round and Teeter.
The Toy Merry-go-round in Fig. 310 consists of a strip of heavy cardboard turned up at its ends (Fig. 312), tacked at its center to the end of a stick cut small enough to turn easily in the hole in a spool.
The spool slipped over the stick is grasped by the right hand, and the left hand starts the merry-go-round and keeps it in motion by twirling the stick to which the cardboard strip is fastened.
The boy and girl riders, shown in Fig. 313 are of the right size so you can trace them off upon a piece of tracing-paper and then transfer to cardboard. After cutting them out of the cardboard, color both
Fig. 314.—Doll Swing.
Fig. 315.—Detail of Swing.
sides with crayons or water-colors, and glue them to the turned-up ends of the cardboard strip.
The Teeter-Board (Fig. 311) is made of the same kind of a strip as that used for the merry-go-round (Fig. 312). Tack this strip at its center to the side of a spool, and mount the spool in a cardboard frame in the same way that the spool wheels of the cart are mounted (Figs. 308 and 309); but make the peg axle to fit tight in the spool hole. Prepare a boy and girl rider similar to those made for the merry-go-round (Fig. 313).
Figs. 316 and 317.—Details of Swing Seat.
The teeter is operated by turning the end of the spool axle first one way then the other.
The Doll Swing shown in Fig. 314 has a cardboard base, with two spools fastened to it 4 inches apart to support the framework. Tack the base to the ends of the spools. The framework uprights are tightly rolled tubes of paper 10 or 12 inches long, and the top crosspiece is another paper tube 4 inches long. Stick the lower ends of the uprights into the spool holes; then fasten the crosspiece to their tops by running pins through it and into the upright ends (Fig. 315), and then lashing the connections with thread as shown in Fig. 314.
Fig. 318.—Sofa.
The swing seat is made of a spool with a cardboard back fastened to it (Figs. 316 and 317). Suspend the spool with thread from the top of the swing crosspiece.
Figs. 319-321.—Details of Sofa.
A Sofa with arm rolls, like that shown in Fig. 318, is a good example of what can be made in spool-and-cardboard doll furniture. Prepare the seat and back out of a single piece of cardboard, curving the top and ends of the back as shown, and making the width of the seat the same as the length of the spool arms. Fasten the spools by means of a strip
Fig. 323.—Square Center-Table.
Fig. 322.—Chair.
Fig. 324.—Round Center-Table.
of paper bent over them as shown in Fig. 320, and glued to the seat. Use small silk-thread spools (Fig. 321) for feet, and glue them to the seat at the four corners.
The Chair (Fig. 322) has a seat and back made out of a single piece of cardboard, with one-third of its length bent out for the seat. Glue the seat to a spool base.
The Square Center-Table (Fig. 323) has a crochet-cotton spool pedestal, and its top is a square piece of card-board. Glue the spool to the exact center of the top.
The Round Center-Table (Fig. 324) is made similarly. Use the rim of a cup for marking out the circular top.
With a little ingenuity you will be able to devise a great many other pieces of doll furniture, and other toys as well.