During a recent conversation with friends, the topic of household chores came up.  We commiserated about the fact that all our best cleaning efforts seem to be completely undone within 24 hours of family life, and we took turns sharing our most-hated chores.

For me, cleaning bathrooms ranks chief among the tasks I most despise.  Showers are my nemesis and our feud runs deep.

Thankfully, I don’t feel so negatively about all the household duties that need to be attended around here.  I enjoy cooking, when I’m not crunched for time.  And my favorite household task?  It’s folding laundry.  I usually run a bunch of loads during the day, and then tackle all the folding while I listen to some relaxing music or an interesting podcast.  Laundry folding is a nice, calm space for me, because the kids are smart enough to stay out of sight lest they be put to work!

After today, I have another reason to enjoy my laundry folding: Because this quick & easy craft project dresses up boring plastic clothes hangers with sweet, vintage-inspired fabrics.  Now, when I pull shirts out of the pile that need to be hung, I can pull out one of spruced-up “pretty” hangers to do the job.  It’s just a small way to bring a bit of “pretty” to everyday life–and you probably already have the plastic hangers in your closet!

If you follow my craft posts at all, you’ve probably already figured out that I love pretty fabrics and I’m often using them for various sewing projects.  As a result, I’ve built up quite a collection of “leftovers” that’s stashed in a drawer, and I’m always trying to think of creative little ways to use them up. (Perhaps this means I should get better at doing the math before I calculate the amount of fabric I need for my projects, but I digress. . . )  And this little hanger project is a perfect way to use up some of those fabric leftovers. 

We received some yarn-wrapped hangers as a wedding gift nearly 19 years ago now, and they still hang in our closet–little bursts of color amidst all the boring white hangers that line the rest of our closet.  They aren’t particularly stylish and the colors are rather out-of-date, but it’s still fun to see them hanging there, a little reminder of our newlywed days–and one of the few wedding gifts that still gets daily use around here!

I think these pretty, fabric-covered hangers would make a lovely bridal shower gift idea. I can imagine some adorable baby-themed fabrics making child-size hangers for a new mom. Or a sweet, homemade birthday gift for a friend . . .  There are just lots of fun possibilities with this craft!

And the best part?

It’s such an easy craft project!

Once you’ve got your basic supplies pulled together, you can have a finished hanger in just a matter of minutes! You can check out the simple, step-by-step instructions below:

Supplies

• Fabric (Grab some adorable vintage-inspired fabrics here!)  OR 1″ – 1.5″ Ribbon
• Plastic Hangers  (Mine were shaped like these)
• Scissors or Cutting Board/Mat
• Double-sided Tape
• narrow ribbon or twine (not pictured above)

 

How to Make

1. If using fabric, cut into strips approx. 1″ long.  (They don’t need to be exact or perfectly straight, so using a scissors will work fine.  I just used my rotary cutter because it’s the quickest!) If using ribbon, you can just cut one length off the roll.  I was able to do one hanger with two 45″ strips of fabric – so you’ll want approx. 90″ total length of fabric or ribbon.  
2. Place a piece of double-sided tape on the end of the hanger and wrap it around the plastic. (It’s a little hard to see in the picture because it’s clear. But it’s there.  I actually wrapped TWO pieces of tape, side by side on the end of the hanger.
3. Lay your piece of fabric/ribbon flat against the tape, and begin wrapping around the hanger, overlapping each layer a little bit as you go.  You will keep doing this all the way around the hanger.
   
4. If you get to the end of one of your fabric pieces, wrap a piece of double-sided tape around the hanger where your fabric will end.  Then wrap a second piece of double-sided tape around the plastic, and just a little bit over the edge of your fabric strip to keep it in place.  (See picture below)  Begin wrapping your new piece of fabric/ribbon in the same spot.  (I looped my fabric around twice to start the new piece, to keep the loose end firmly in place.) 
5. Continue wrapping your fabric all the way around the hanger until you return to the “neck” of the hanger.  Loop the fabric around itself and pull through. Do this two times. (It’s hard to explain, but hopefully the pictures below helps!)  Then cut off any extra fabric that’s left.
   

   Loop fabric through and pull tight one time.

   

   Loop fabric through and pull tight a second time.

   

   This is what it looks like pulled through. You will have to trim off the excess “tail” to finish.

   6. Add a short length of ribbon or twine around the neck of the hanger and tie into a simple knot.

And that’s it!  You have a pretty new hanger to add to your closet (or a friends!)  If you want, you can go back around and trim the excess strings from the raw edges, but I personally like the unfinished look and thing it adds a nice shabby chic finish to the hangers.

I hope you have fun with this little project. Drop me a comment and let me know how it turns out for you!