American Girl Idea to Make a Portable Closet

Guess what? I’ve got a fun new American Girl Idea for you today! It is to make a DIY portable closet for your doll clothes and accessories and it is total cuteness!

So almost 2 years ago now at a blogger conference, Ryobi tools had a booth. They let us come in and play with the power tools. At that time, I made this cute little box. That little box sat in my pile of things I wanted to do something with for almost 2 years. About 6 months ago, I finally figured out what I wanted to make with it. It was inspired by this cute idea. Recently, I finally got the project done and my daughter and I couldn’t be happier with the end result. 

Unfortunately, I don’t have specific pictures for the pattern for you since Ryobi had some stuff done for us. I can give you dimensions and I think it would be pretty easy to pull off, but if you prefer something more concrete, the idea that inspired mine does have some great directions for something similar.

The sides are cut from 1 x 4 and are 14″ high. They are the width of the 1×4 for the bottom 4″ and then I cut them at an angle on both sides so that the sides are only 1 1/2 inches at the top. I used a jig saw to make those cuts. About 3/4″ down from the top of the sides and centered, you will need to drill holes for your dowel rod. Use wood glue to secure the dowel rod. Mine is a 1/2″ dowel rod and it is 7 1/2″ long with 1/4″ inserted and glued into the sides so that only 7″ of the dowel rod is showing.

For the bottom, you will need 6 pieces cut the same. They are 8 1/2″ long. The wood measures 1 3/4″ wide and 1/4″ thick. Use nails or a nail gun to attach starting at the bottom and working up the sides.

Once your piece is assembled, give it a good sanding and make sure everything is smooth. Paint is the next step.

Start with a coat of primer to make your final colors go on well.

For my box, I used some of the same colors I used when I made the Amerian Girl Doll Bunk Beds. They go with my youngest daughter’s new room. Since she is the primary person who still plays with dolls, this will be for her.

I decided to go with some color blocking and add a few random polka dots for fun. You will just need a few hangers for your doll clothes (affiliate link) and you are good to go.

It turned out so cute! Maryellen, who is my doll, was kind of hoping it was for her, but she understood when I gave it to Pumpkin. 🙂

The great thing about a fun American Girl idea like this is that it holds shoes and accessories in the bottom. So cute nad so perfect for additional storage or storage on the go during play.

I mean! So cute!

The little portable closet looks so cute in Pumpkin’s room. She moved her Beanie Boo house to another location in her room and put back her area for dolls. She likes to move things around….I know exactly where she gets that from. 😀

This adorable portable closet is so cute and a fairly easy DIY American Girl idea if you have the right tools. If not, you can use the other idea I linked to at the top of this post. I’m pretty sure it only requires a hammer.

Have fun and Happy doll play!

If you want even more fun American Girl ideas, I’ve got the best Pinterest board for you! Follow along for tons of great ideas.