https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/antler-hatstands • Posted by Kyle Books
Not the most obvious vintage home project, but I have always wanted a massive pair of antlers on which to hang our hats, or one pair for each family member, hung at just the right height for them. These faux antlers, made of wire bound in fabric, take a little bit of making, but are well worth the effort. You need an impressive-looking mount for your antlers – taxidermy suppliers sell appropriate shields and boards that are very reasonably priced, or you can sand and paint an offcut of wood, a slice of tree trunk, a piece of driftwood or even an old chopping board to make your mount.
Not the most obvious vintage home project, but I have always wanted a massive pair of antlers on which to hang our hats, or one pair for each family member, hung at just the right height for them. These faux antlers, made of wire bound in fabric, take a little bit of making, but are well worth the effort. You need an impressive-looking mount for your antlers – taxidermy suppliers sell appropriate shields and boards that are very reasonably priced, or you can sand and paint an offcut of wood, a slice of tree trunk, a piece of driftwood or even an old chopping board to make your mount.
Mark a cross on the mount where each antler will be. Choose the number of wires you will be using, allowing one wire for every point that you want on your antlers. A maximum of five is probably best. For a single point antler use double wire to add strength. Check that you have the right size drill bit so the wire just fits in the hole and then drill the right number of holes around the crosses, only a couple of milimetres apart, all the way through to the back, making sure that you have a suitable surface behind that you can drill into. Finish your mount with paint if required and add a strong picture hook to the back for hanging.
If you are using coat hangers clip off the twisted ends and straighten them out. Chop the wire into different lengths and line them all up at one end. Use some string to bind all of the wires for one antler together at this end, leaving about 2cm bare so they can be pushed into the holes in the mount.
Bend the wires into antler shapes, tying the wires together by wrapping more string around the bundle just before each point forks off. Make the antlers as a mirror of each other so they make a matching pair.
Start to bind the frames with long strips of fabrics, all cut into 1–2cm wide strips. Use a glue gun or sew the end of the strip to the wires, then wind it around and around the antler, moving up towards the points. Sew or glue each strip in place and keep winding until all of the wire is covered. Leave the mount end of the wires free from fabric so they can slot into the holes in the mount.
When you have a balanced pair of antlers, feed the wires into the holes in the mount with plenty of hot glue and cover with a little more fabric to hide the glue. Hang on the wall as decoration, or use as a hat stand.