Spring has arrived. This time of year, I can’t help but think of weddings. Sorry – it’s the event planner in me. Don’t get me wrong, despite having had a Spring wedding myself, I’m much more of a Fall wedding kind of girl. Chances are, most of my readers are too. So, lucky for you… my Spring wedding inspiration is perfect timing for all of you Fall wedding ladies looking to get a jump start on some of your DIY details. Not a bride to be? Don’t fret… these Gothic Fabric Covered Decorative Hangers with Fabric Flowers will upgrade anyone’s closet!
Let’s start with the brides…. Why hangers? There are a few reasons. First – the photographs. Every wedding photographer is going to want to get a few shots of “The Dress” before you are in it. These make for beautiful pictures, but the hanger the dress is on should be as photo-worthy as the dress. Another popular photo is a rack of the bridesmaid dresses. Again, a much better photo if that rack is lined with beautiful coordinating hangers. Second, speaking of bridesmaids… these handmade hangers make a great gift. Third, it is your special day, and every thing about the day should feel special. Even if a hanger seems insignificant… a stunning dress hanging on a gorgeous hanger is just a bit more special. And lastly… for all of you looking to add some goth details to your wedding, this is a great little detail. Especially for you brides that choose to stick with a traditional white or cream dress… finding ways to add beautiful gothic or black touches will be important. How beautiful will a white dress on a Gothic Black Velvet Hanger be!
For everyone else…. How lovely is the idea of having a beautifully decorated and organized closet? For me… it’s a fairy tale, and I couldn’t be farther from that reality. If you happened to read last year’s DIY Hanger Tutorial, you may remember my disaster of a closet. A year later… I’m horrified to say it has actually gotten worse. BUT – I am FINALLY in clean out mode… watch out Poshmark! My ultimate goal is to get rid of everything I no longer wear, and have a closet where I can actually see my clothes! That’s step one. Hanging my clothes on dazzling decorative hangers?… that may take some time. For those of you that are ahead of me in that department… and are organized enough to step back and enjoy looking at the clothes in your closet… these hangers may be for you. It’s an easy way to transform those cheap plastic hangers, and add some gothic glam to your closet. After all, beautiful clothes deserve to be hung on beautiful hangers. For me, I do have some special dresses in a separate closet that will be hanging on these beauties.
As I mentioned, for this project I used plastic hangers. I chose black for obvious reasons, but if the fabric or ribbon you’re using is opaque, then it shouldn’t matter what color the hanger is. Wire hangers were too thin for this project. I felt that the hangers needed more bulk. I also tested those popular nonslip hangers, but quite honestly I thought the shape looked weird. Weird is not what I was going for…. at least not this week. 😉
For the flowers, I opted to make each grouping in a different color scheme. One in solid black, one in black and plum, and one in black and pewter. The colors you choose will obviously depend on your wedding colors or home decor. I wanted to make several different ones just so you could get a flavor for how they’d look. For the decorative piece inside of each flower, I pulled together a pile of buttons, brooches, shoe clips, and even clip on earrings. Feel free to get creative with this step. For your viewing pleasure, I also tried a few different things on each group of flowers. The black flowers all got the exact same black & gold center. The black & pewter flowers got different size and shape centers, but in the same color and material. The black and purple flowers got a mix of sizes, shapes, materials, and colors.
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Here’s what you’ll need to make these hangers:
For the Hangers….
- Black Plastic Hangers (without hooks)
- Ribbons, Fabric, Lace
- Hot Glue Gun & Glue
- Binder clip (or chip clip)
For the Flowers….
- Miscellaneous fabrics in satins, lace, tulle, etc
- Lighter or Candle
- Needle & Thread
- Buttons, Clip-on Earrings, or small Brooches
You really can use just about anything to wrap the hangers. For mine, I used a few different materials. A wide black crushed velvet ribbon for one. For another… a ruffled satin and organza ribbon, and for the last…. strips of a black cotton fabric. To make the strips, I snipped one end of the fabric with a pair of scissors, and tore it apart by hand. I continued snipping and tearing every 1-1 1/2″ to create the strips. I liked the raw edge this gave. Not every fabric rips well, so you may need some trial and error (or advice from a fabric store). You could also use satin ribbon, lace, or even patterned fabric.
Once you have your lengths of ribbon or fabric, begin wrapping it around the hanger. I like to start at the neck so I can work my way around and back up the neck. I hold the strip in place by hand until the wrapping feels secure, and once I come back around to the neck, I re-wrap the beginning of the strip to ensure it stays in place.
Once the strip gets to the end of the hanger, add a small dab of glue. Use the clip to hold the end of the wrap in place while the glue dries. Use cation with this step. Too much glue can not only burn your fingers, but will likely show through the ribbon or fabric and not look the best.
Now onto the flowers. When selecting fabrics for the flowers, satin or fabrics with a sheen seem to work best. They won’t all work, so I highly recommend buying a few different fabrics just in case. I actually prefer the way the flowers look when made with a mix of different fabrics, even if all the same color. I also mixed in some tulle and lace to add dimension to the flower. To keep cost and waste to a minimum, I purchased 1/8 cuts of the different fabrics, and luckily found a few “end cut” pieces in the bargain bin.
Cut the fabric into circles. These will be the flower petals. I used 7-9 petals per flower. You’ll want at least 5 different sizes. I started out with a few items I found around my house to use as the circle patterns (a shot glass, a small bowl, the lid to a jar candle, etc), but then quickly realized that a lack in consistency was actually a benefit when making these flowers, so I ditched the patterns, and ended up just free handing the cutting. You do not have to be too precise with the shape of the circle, because you’ll be burning the edge, and the shape will change. A variety of shapes and sizes is also great, because you’ll be layering the different sizes of circles to build the flowers.
Once your circles are cut, the fun begins. You’re going to be burning the edges. You can use a lighter or a candle flame… there are pros and cons to both. A lighter will give you more control, but your thumb will take a beating after all of those petals, and you’ll probably waste an entire lighter. On the flip side, the candle is so much easier, but it’s a bit harder to control how much the flame burns the edges, and there is slightly more risk of the petal actually catching on fire. Which reminds me… have a small bowl of water nearby in case any of your petals actually do catch on fire… Whichever flame method you choose, you will lightly touch the flame around the edge of each petal, causing it to curl up and create the petal. You can adjust where to touch the flame and for how long in order to create slight differences in each petal.
Begin building the flowers by placing the petals on top of one another from largest to smallest, layering the fabrics or colors.
I laid out all of my flowers at once, so I could be sure to appropriate all of my petals accordingly.
Once I was happy with all of the flower layers, I used a needle and thread to stitch the center of the petals together, holding the flower in place.
To finish it off, I chose different components for the centers of each flowers.
When attaching the component to the flower, use a long length of thread on your needle.
Thread the component onto the center of the flower, and once secure… continue sewing the entire flower onto the hanger. I found it easiest to simply use the same length of thread for both.
Voila! Hang your dress… your special something… or just your everyday clothes, and admire how much better they look! 😉
Want another great DIY for your closet? Try these Halloween Wooden Hangers.
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