How to Make Stuff From Coat Hangers
Coat hangers can be found in virtually every closet in the nation, and a wide variety of inexpensive home crafts can be made using these abundant little wire or wooden contraptions. Learning how to make stuff from coat hangers can help you to create useful and unique additions to your home decor, and coat hanger crafts can be a great activity for kids as well.
Instructions
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Coat Hanger Mobiles
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Use two wire coat hangers to form the base and hook of a hanging mobile. First, straighten the hook on one of the coat hangers, then place it cross-ways inside the other hanger.
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Twist the straightened top around the hook of the second hanger to form a cross-shaped mobile support that can be suspended from the ceiling or other support.
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Decorate your mobile with paper crafts, small toys, christmas cards or other festive decorations.
Holiday Wreaths
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Use three wire hangers to create a bright holiday wreath. Straighten each hanger, then use wire cutters to clip off 5 inches from the first hanger, 6 inches from the second and 7 inches from the third.
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Shape each hanger into a circle and arrange the three according to length, with the shortest in the middle. Use the clipped wire pieces to secure the three hangers together about a half inch apart to create the support for your wreath.
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Decorate your wreath with natural pine boughs, flowers, bows and other seasonal craft materials to customize your wreath.
Mobile Book Shelves
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Use one wire coat hanger to make a portable bookshelf ideal for one to three books. Shape your wire hanger into a rectangle with hard corners, extending down from the hook.
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Bend the hanger up 90 degrees several inches from the hook and bend it again 90 degrees several inches from the first bend. When you hold the bent hanger by the hook, it should resemble a small, two-sided basket.
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Hang your wire hanger bookshelf on a secure nail and use it to hold your favorite books.
Wooden Dish Drain
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Use eight wooden coat hangers to create a rustic holder for your clean dishes. Begin by removing the dowel rods from the bottom of six of the eight hangers, cutting or sanding the ends of the rods to ensure they are even and removing the metal hooks from the top of the hangers.
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Cut or sand a small groove along the outside of five of the hangers, including the two that still have dowel rods attached, about 2 inches from the bottom. Cut another groove along the inside of the same five hangers, about 3 inches up from the first ones.
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Align the five grooved hangers vertically--the two with attached dowel rods should be on the outside--and glue the four free dowel rods down the line, aligning with the grooves you have cut. To finish your dish drain, screw the remaining three hangers upside down to the two outside hangers and the one in the middle, with the tops supporting the structure.
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Tips & Warnings
Use protective eye wear when cutting wire hangers with wire cutters.
References
- Photo Credit Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images
