Sew A Simple, Squeezable DIY Village Playset for Kids

When putting this design together, I knew immediately that getting the fabric palette spot-on and determining how much I needed to buy would be a major key to this little village playset’s success. LUCKILY, I found this gorgeous set of fat quarter remnants I could build my design around.

Fat quarters are quarter yards of fabric that typically measure 18 by 22 Inches – cut to be wider than standard quarter yards. If you have quite a bit of fabric, you may find everything you need for this project by using leftovers. I didn’t have cotton scraps that fit the bill, so finding this bundle of fat quarters made life much easier!

There are enough different colors of fabric used in this playset that I included a fabric measurement guide in our printable village playset pattern. It shows how I laid out all of my patterns to fit on each fat quarter and includes the dimensions of each color of fabric I used so you can easily alter the pattern to work with scraps you might already have (or buy precisely what you need).

Once you’ve picked out your fabrics, iron them or throw them in your dryer on the steam cycle before sitting down to sew.

Download, print, and cut out our soft village playset printable PDF patterns. We’re basically sewing rectangles and triangles here, so for those of you who are comfortable with sewing, you may very well be able to eyeball our photos and use them for inspiration.

Pin and cut out the house pattern pieces to the corresponding fabric you’d like to use.

My VSM is a pinner, while I prefer to trace the pattern pieces onto fabric using a fabric pencil. If you also like to trace, Clover makes great water-soluble pencils you can use that I’ve linked to in the supply list.

Tip: If kids are helping with cutting or sewing these pieces, you can use safety pins instead of straight pins to help avoid any unexpected pinpricks.

With the “right” or “nice” sides facing inward, pin the roof piece to the top of the main house facade piece. Sew straight across to join the bottom of the roof to the top of the building. Do this for both the front and back pieces.

This is where I should mention that our village was sewn together by a sewing machine to speed up the process a bit, but if you’re more of a hand stitcher or your kids are sewing these pieces, everything can absolutely be hand-sewn instead.

Stacking right sides facing each other again, pin the front and back of your houses together, then sew from the bottom left side all the way around to the bottom right side. Be sure to leave the bottom open so you can add stuffing!

Tip from the VSM: If you’d like a nice finished edge, you can iron the seams open after you’ve finished sewing.

Once you’ve sewn your two house pieces together, flip it inside out so you have your “nice” side out – it’s time to stuff! Gently push polypill (or similar) into each of your houses, making sure to push all the way up into the top and corners.

Fill until fairly firm, stopping before it gets so plump that it starts to make your house more round than rectangular.

Next, we’re going to fill a small plastic baguette with dry beans. This acts as a weight and also helps to keep all the pieces of our village standing upright. Fill a small (we used 3-inch by 5-inch) resealable clear plastic bag with beans, pressing all the air out before closing. Seal and stuff into the bottom of each house.

A big benefit of bagging our beans? Once sewn in, there’s no chance a stray bean will fall out, making these safer for toddlers to play with and also (relatively) water-safe should you ever need to clean the outside off with a damp sponge.

Fold up the bottom similar to the way you’d wrap a package, pulling both end corners toward the center and folding the long edges inward. Pin together, then sew across the bottom.

Using fabric paint (or acrylic paint mixed with a painting textile medium) paint windows onto cotton fabric. This is a great chance to involve kids who can come up with their own designs or paint fun details into the windows and doorways. If trying this step with kids, I recommend taping down the fabric at each corner so it doesn’t move around as they paint.

I like to work on an old cookie sheet – the slight lip keeps things from being bumped around, they’re easy to clean, and should you need to move workspaces mid-project you can just pick the whole thing up.

Instead of painting our doors, we cut them out of patterned fabric to add a bit of repeated texture, but you can choose whichever process you prefer.

You can trace the window and door patterns included in our printable, or just free paint your own sets!

Apply fabric glue to the backs of your windows and doors. For this process, I find it easiest to squeeze some glue onto a plastic lid, then use an old stiff bristle brush to brush the glue onto backs – be sure you have an even coat of glue that gets all the way to the edges of your windows and doors.

If working with kids, you may want to try mixing a drop or two of water with your glue, then using a sponge to dab it onto the backs.

Using the same process, you can make trees and/or mountains to add to the landscaping of your village playset.

Kids can help bring their own landscapes to life by painting details or textures like leaves or branches on the trees. If painting, be sure to let them brush on their designs before sewing and stuffing.

Note: We stuffed our snowcap before hand-sewing shut around the bottom edge, creating a bit of dimension and adding to the illusion of snow cover. Because the mountain is our largest piece, it also required more beans at the bottom. You can use two to three small bags or switch to a resealable plastic snack bag size as we did.