DIY Clothing Rack

Hi, ABM readers! It's Rubyellen again, and I'm here to share a really easy clothing rack you can make to display some overflow or maybe some of your favorite pieces for the season. And when you don't need it, it can easily be taken apart and stored away.

Supplies:
-four 1 3/8" x 72" poplar dowels
-one 7/8" x 48" poplar dowel
-measuring tape
-pencil
-drill
-7/8" drill bit
-5/32" drill bit
-two 23" x 0.125" leather cording
-two 50" x 0.125" leather cording
-wood glue (optional)

Step One: Measure and mark 15 1/2" down from the top of each of your four 1 3/8" x 72" dowels. This mark will be the center of the hole. Using the 7/8" drill bit, drill a hole on each mark, all the way through the dowel. Make sure to keep your hole straight as you drill through; if you drill through the dowel at an angle, your clothing bar won't be level. Lightly sand the hole opening to remove any roughness.

Step Two: Measure and mark 8" up from the bottom of your four dowels, but you will want to make sure that this mark is 90 degrees from the top hole. Using the 5/32" drill bit, drill a hole on each mark, all the way through the dowel, making sure to keep your hole straight as you drill through. Lightly sand the hole opening to remove any roughness. Gather two dowels together to form one end of the rack, and insert the 23" leather cording through the 5/32" holes; then, knot the ends. Knotting helps prevent the dowel legs from sliding open and falling flat on the floor. Repeat for the remaining 23" cording and two dowels.

Step Three: Insert the 7/8" x 48" dowel through the top holes of one side of the rack, allowing about 1 1/2" to protrude from the end, and then insert the other end through the other remaining pair of dowels, in the same way. Open the rack to the point where the 23" leather cording on both sides is fully extended.

Step Four: Center the 50" leather cording around where the three dowels meet together, and wrap around twice diagonally, and then wrap around twice the opposite way diagonally, so that it creates an "X" of sorts. Double knot together the ends and bury the tails within the cording. Repeat for the opposite side. You could do without the leather cording and just use wood glue to secure the dowels together to prevent the horizontal dowel from slipping out.

If you do without the wood glue, it makes it much easier to take the rack apart and store when you need it out of the way. You probably won't want to overload the rack, but I think if you need some extra space and want to display some of your favorite pieces, this is a good option. For styling, I only put eight hangers with clothes on the rack, but it could take double that amount (maybe even triple, depending what it is you want to hang). I even did pull-ups on it to see if it would hold me, and it did (but I don't recommend using it as an exercising device!). You can even hang on some of your purses and hats. And if you have little ones like me, you can drape fabric on it, and it becomes theatre curtains and sets the stage area for some little performances. This simple dowel clothing rack can have many uses. Happy crafting! xo. Rubyellen

Credits // Author and Photography by: Rubyellen Bratcher.