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This doll crib is a real piece of furniture technique shrunk to toy scale: rounded end panels, a slatted rail box, and a drawer underneath, all doable with a jigsaw and patience rather than any specialty tool. The honest warning from the build itself: matching the two curved end-panel tops is the hardest part of the whole project, harder than it looks in the cut list. Cut both roughly with a jigsaw, then clamp them together and sand both at once until the curves are identical — sanding them separately practically guarantees a visible mismatch once they're standing side by side in the finished crib.
The rail assembly is the crib's defining look: five short rail slats between a top and bottom rail, repeated to both ends, giving the crib the same vertical-bar rhythm a real crib has at a scale a doll actually fits. Glue is doing real work here — the plan notes one screw per rail is enough as long as the joint is glued, which keeps twenty small parts from needing twenty precisely placed fasteners.
The drawer is a simple notched box, jigsawed with a hand-hold cutout rather than fitted with hardware — appropriate for a project this size, where a pull knob would be oversized against the drawer face. Build the drawer to slide in the opening you actually built, not to the cut list number, the same rule that applies to full-size furniture drawers.
| Item | Qty |
|---|---|
| 1x12, 8 ft | 1 each |
| 1x6, 6 ft | 1 each |
| 1x2, 8 ft | 2 each |
| Pocket hole screws, 1-1/4", or self-tapping trim screws, 2" | 30 each |
| Self-tapping star bit wood screws, 2" | 20 each |
| Wood glue, filler, and finishing supplies | 1 set |
| Sandpaper, assorted grits | 4 each |
Overall cost: $. Lumber prices vary by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure we would only be pretending to know.
| Part | Qty | T × W × L |
|---|---|---|
| End panels1x12Rounded tops — cut roughly with a jigsaw, then clamp both together and sand until identical. | 2 | 3/4" × 11 1/4" × 20" |
| Crib bottom1x12 | 1 | 3/4" × 11 1/4" × 21" |
| Drawer bottom1x12 | 1 | 3/4" × 11 1/4" × 20 3/4" |
| Drawer front and back1x6 | 2 | 3/4" × 5 1/2" × 20 3/4" |
| Drawer sides1x6 | 2 | 3/4" × 5 1/2" × 10" |
| Rail tops and bottoms1x2 | 4 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 21" |
| Rail slats1x2 | 10 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 7 3/4" |
Buy 4 boards at 8 ft.
1 board
1 board
2 boards
Assumes 8 ft stock, a 1/8" saw kerf, and buying each part at its own width. Change the board size or kerf on the full board plan →
Mark all the 1x2 rail-top and rail-bottom pieces at their full length. Drill pocket holes in the rail slats (or in the tops and bottoms if you'd rather drill through those instead) and attach the slats between the tops and bottoms with screws and glue. One screw per rail joint is enough as long as it's glued.
Cut the rounded tops of the two end panels with a jigsaw, working roughly close to the line. Clamp the two panels together and sand both at once — sanding, and sanding again — until the curves match exactly. This step is the hardest part of the whole crib; take the time here.
Once the ends are done, build the box: attach the crib bottom to the two end panels with 2" screws through predrilled holes, or 1-1/4" pocket hole screws and glue.
Attach the rail assemblies to the ends and bottom of the crib box.
Build the drawer box from the front, back, sides, and bottom. Notch a hand-hold into the drawer front with a jigsaw rather than adding hardware — a pull knob would look oversized at this scale.
Test the drawer in its opening and adjust the fit as needed — build to the opening you actually have, not to the cut list number.
Fill any visible fastener holes, sand the entire crib smooth (round every edge — this is a toy), and finish with a kid-safe paint or clear coat.
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