May 19, 2017

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I have an easy craft to share this week, born, as my favorite crafts are, from necessity. Enjoy. —SCB

This week it was finally warm enough to bring out a few spring/summer wardrobe items I had stored away, but when I tried to hang the lightweight/slippery/spaghetti-strapped tops and dresses on my wooden IKEA hangers, everything ended up in a heap on the closet floor.

I am a severe synthetic-tactile-phobe, the mere thought of the squeaky acrylic yarn covered hangers that you may have seen at Grandma’s house or the thrift store sends chills up my spine, but they do work at keeping things in place. It turns out that linen and cotton yarn do just as good a job while keeping more in line with my own tactile and aesthetic sensibilities.

Covered hangers are the mindless, repetitive craft many of us are craving right now. No special tools or supplies are needed (I didn’t even need my reading glasses!). I used a linen and a cotton melange yarn from my stash. I was particularly pleased with the result of the linen yarn—Quince & Co sells a beautiful one. You will also need sturdy wire hangers. If they have a little stopper at the hanging end, that will help.

To cover the hanger, you will need to tie a bunch of knots—that’s it. To begin, cut a length of yarn about a yard long. Fold it in half. Take the loop end and make a slip knot on your hanger as shown:

Pull the knot tight and push it down to the end of the hanger. Take your doubled yarn underneath the hanger wire and up through the loop and pull tight again. Continue making this knot, pulling tight and pushing close until you have just a few inches of yarn left. Start again with a fresh loop of yarn, covering the ends of the yarn with your first slip knot and trim away any loose ends.

Work your way around, covering the entire hanger. To finish, tie the two ends of yarn in a double knot and trim ends. Add a pom-pom if you wish.

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