DIY Hat Organizer

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My boyfriend has a ton of hats that our shelving just can't seem to hold anymore. He doesn't even remember what he has because he can't see them all when they're piled up and stuffed on the shelf! I cleared out a little space on our closet wall and solved the problem with this easy-to-follow DIY hat organizer tutorial.

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Image Credit: Rachel Metz
Image Credit: Rachel Metz

Things You'll Need

  • 1" x 6" x 72" beam

  • 3/4" wooden dowel

  • Miter saw

  • Orbital sander or sandpaper

  • Power drill

  • 1" Forstner drill bit

  • Level

  • Ruler

  • Pencil

  • Wood glue

  • Stain or paint of choice

  • Sealant

  • Measuring tape

  • Nail gun (optional)

Tip

Feel free to alter the measurements to fit the length of your space! This DIY tutorial is for a 36-inch long hat rack.

Image Credit: Rachel Metz

Step 1: Cut Your Wood

Measure the wall space you plan to use to determine how large your hat rack will be. Mine allowed for a 36-inch long hat rack.

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Image Credit: Rachel Metz

Cut your 1" x 6" beam down to size.

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Image Credit: Rachel Metz
Image Credit: Rachel Metz
Image Credit: Rachel Metz

Step 2: Measure Placement for Hooks

Mark 1 1/2 inches from the top (longer side) of the 36-inch piece of wood.

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Image Credit: Rachel Metz

Take your long ruler and make a mark across the piece of wood as a guideline for where you want your hats to hang.

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Image Credit: Rachel Metz

Place hats side by side along the piece of wood, spacing them out to your personal preference. Then mark each spot on the wood.

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Image Credit: Rachel Metz
Image Credit: Rachel Metz

Step 3: Drill Your Holes

Using a Forstner drill bit (I used 1-inch), drill holes for the pegs where you made the marks for the hats. Your drill bit size should be a little bit bigger than your dowel's diameter. This way, the dowel will fit right on in!

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Image Credit: Rachel Metz

Make sure to not go all the way through the wood. Take it nice and slow when using this drill bit–it doesn't take much power to push this puppy all the way through, and you do not want that.

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Image Credit: Rachel Metz
Image Credit: Rachel Metz

Step 4: Cut Down Your Dowel

Use your miter saw to cut your dowel into pieces about 1 1/2 inches long, creating the pegs (hooks) for the hats.

Image Credit: Rachel Metz
Image Credit: Rachel Metz

Place the dowel pieces inside the holes you drilled to make sure they fit properly.

Image Credit: Rachel Metz
Image Credit: Rachel Metz

Step 5: Sand Your Wood

Use 120 grit sandpaper and sand down your wood. For the holes, tape some sandpaper to the end of a dowel and sand the inside.

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Image Credit: Rachel Metz

For the beam, I used my orbital sander.

Image Credit: Rachel Metz

For the pegs, I sanded them by hand.

Image Credit: Rachel Metz

Step 6: Stain or Paint Your Wood

Before putting it all together, stain the wood using your choice of color (I used American Walnut) to give it a little life.

Image Credit: Rachel Metz
Image Credit: Rachel Metz

Step 7: Attach Wood Pegs (Hooks)

Lay out your wood beams on a flat surface and add some wood glue to each drill hole.

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Image Credit: Rachel Metz

Place your pegs into each hole.

Image Credit: Rachel Metz
Image Credit: Rachel Metz

Flip the beam around and secure the pegs by brad nailing through the back of the board into each peg.

Image Credit: Rachel Metz
Image Credit: Rachel Metz

Step 8: Add Sealant

Add a weather proofing sealant (spray paint version) to give it a glossy finish and protect it from humidity.

Image Credit: Rachel Metz
Image Credit: Rachel Metz

Step 9: Hang and Organize

Use a power drill, screws and a level to hang the hat rack up on the wall.

Image Credit: Rachel Metz
Image Credit: Rachel Metz

I couldn't believe how simple this DIY hat organizer was to make! The entire build from start to finish only took me 4 hours, so it was perfect for a weekend project. Happy DIY'ing!

Image Credit: Rachel Metz

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