McCall's Pattern #8346 Miniature House, Furniture and Families
Rabbit, Mouse, Bear

Sometime back in the 1990s when our daughter, Sally, was around three years old, her grandmother (Melanie's mother) made one of these Rabbit Family House sets from the McCall's pattern #8346. Grandma was a very craftsy person who had decades of experience making rugs, wall hangings, quilts, clothes, and decorative items. You can see from the pattern instructions that a lot of work is involved with many different types of skills required.

Now that we have a five-year-old granddaughter, Melanie decided it would be nice to make a Bunny House for her. Sally found the pattern package at a Goodwill store, and it was of the same vintage as the one Melanie's mother used. At first, the plan was to make one that looked like Sally's, but the further she got into planning, the more of a personalized look the project took on. Rather than using the muted colors of the original, brighter, happier patterns and colors were chosen, and with more variation for the many separate components. Cloth windows were replaced with clear garment plastic, hand-crafted flowers were made for the window boxes, and braided rugs were made for the floor. Also, Melanie designed the bunny clothes and altered the faces to be more defined. A custom picture frame contains miniature photos of our granddaughter's family, and a "Photoshopped" photo of Melanie and her sitting on the very sofa in the Bunny House. Note also the personalized nameplate on the door!

Most of the fabric for the furniture and features was gotten from A.C. Moore in their "Fat Quarters" packs. The plastic mesh used for the house walls, roof, and floor, and the furniture was also bought there. Larger pieces of fabric were gotten at Joann Fabric and Hobby Lobby. Overall, the total materials cost was probably around $35. Time invested (not including shopping for materials) is estimated to be about 40 hours spread over three months - partly due to a lot of hand stitching being done.