Little minty nest

I have a wee little cousin who is sweet and spunky. She is also at that special age where I think she can see the whimsy in having an altoid tin bed for her little dollies. So I made this for my little L.

My friend Johanna saw this wee mouse tin house pattern and wow, is it ever sweet. I fully encourage you to follow that pattern because it is super deluxe with even a wee teddy bear. The only reason I branched out on my own is because I have a huge stash of little unpainted wooden people. (Yep, in a moment of careful consideration a few years back I bought about 90 of these guys. Yay for impulsive purchases, (said weakly)).

I've had these two little ladies painted and ready for a long time, so no photos for that part (sorry). I can tell you that I used acrylic paint and I used toothpicks for the details on the face. There's a really beautiful tutorial here.

Now, for the bed. I cut a piece of white felt for the mattress measuring 5.5 cm x 9 cm.

I also cut two pieces of fabric, measuring 5 cm x 4 cm, for the pillow using pinking shears. (The blue polka dotted fabric below).

And finally for the sheet, I cut a wee square measuring 5 x 6.5 cm.

With the wrong sides together, I sewed around three edges of the pillow. I used just a whisper of stuffing to fill the pillow and then I sewed the fourth edge shut. You really can't make the pillow too poofy or the tin won't snap shut.

There. all tucked in. Almost finished. 

Using a 4 mm hook, chain 12 and single crochet back and forth until you reach the desired length (I went for about 6.5 cm).

And there you have it, a wee minty nest for two little ladies. A cute little stocking stuffer or an advent treasure.