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How To: DIY Padded Hangers

Last weekend we decided to do a project out of our new favorite book, A Guide to Green Housekeeping. We used a wire hanger from the dry cleaner, an old T-shirt, and a ribbon to finish it all off.

 
 

06hangers.jpg

  1. Cut a old shirt or other fabric into strips. (We found that narrower strips work best.)
  2. Begin by tying one end of the strip onto the hanger and wrap away!
  3. When you get to the end of the strip, tie it off and begin again!
  4. Finish the hanger with a ribbon.

(Images: 1: from A Guide to Green Housekeeping 2-5: Amy Azzarito )

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How To..., GREEN IDEAS, DIY, hanger, creative reuse

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Comments (9)

First glance of the first picture seemed to me like a bunch of people hung on the robes.. until I realized exactly these were.

posted by pier723 on April 13th 2009 at 4:10pm
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This sounds like a good idea, but -- well -- it looks kind of messy. Forgive me, but maybe you just didn't do it right. And do wire hangers really support your clothes the way they should be supported? I know, I know, no one's going to see it except you and your roomie, if you have one, but looking at all that frayed fabric every morning would, after a time, depress me.

posted by 39520expat on April 13th 2009 at 4:15pm
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Oh, I like it. I feel like it's more in the shabby chic vein than the sleek, clean vein. They seem cheerful.

posted by beanorama on April 13th 2009 at 4:46pm
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great idea, looks good too!

posted by ojanet on April 13th 2009 at 6:56pm
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Great way to re-use old rusted iron hangers with the paint chipped off. it looks cute to and your white and other light colored clothes are safe from getting rust stains.



Jeanne

posted by jeanne211 on April 14th 2009 at 2:04am
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Life's to short to pad your hangers.

posted by hrhprincessfiona on April 14th 2009 at 3:27am
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C'mon-- just buy new hangers! This is a project I would never devote time towards!

posted by dnice on April 14th 2009 at 9:05am
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I have yarn covered hangers - my grandmother (who had knitting needles in her hands for most of my memories of her) started making them when her arthritis got so bad that she couldn't knit or crochet anymore. If you look up "yarn covered hangers" you can find instructions. It's very easy, and the hangers hold up for years and years (all of mine are about 20 years old). Makes a good "busy hands" project, uses up some of the icky wire hangers that somehow accumulate and yarn remnants if you or someone you know knits, and prevents you from having to buy more plastic crap.

posted by LauraII on April 14th 2009 at 9:23am
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Laurall, thanks for sharing! I recently found these really thick vintagegold metal hangers and wanted to use them in my closet in my dress section. Of course my dresses were sliding off so I was thinking of wrapping white yarn around everywhere except the hanging part so I could still have some of the original hanger showing. I'm going to look up the "yarn covered hangers" you mentioned.

Also, the thrift shop is a good place to find actual padded hangers covered in a variety of cute vintage fabrics. My grandmother used to make them for me when I was a kid!

posted by rebeldress on April 14th 2009 at 11:45pm
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