Ballard-Inspired Drying Rack

I adore the Beadboard Drying Racks from Ballard Designs. I do not adore the price.

One (semi-domestic) human couldn't love anything more than those racks.

Or so I thought, until I saw Kate's Ballard-inspired drying rack last year over at Centsational Girl. And then I knew I really couldn't love another thing more than I love her version.


So I asked my grandfather for help building my own drying rack for my laundry room; he was such a sport. (Room is too nice a word; it's more like a laundry closet. A hole, if you will.) You see, I have a long history of making odd requests and asking even stranger questions of my grandfather.

"Can you grow grass in a pot? Or does it need a big yard?"

"We're trying to light a giant Eiffel Tower, but we messed up all the lights. Can you come and just splice this stuff together?"

"Why is it called a male end and a female end?"

So in comparison, asking him to help make a drying rack is pretty normal. Mundane, even.

Not mundane? This drying rack!


I have so little extra space in my apartment that I have to be smart about where I hang things to dry. A pop-up drying rack is great, but sometimes I only need to dry one or two things. That's why this drying rack is perfect for a small load, for delicates, for hand-wash items.


(Forgive these pictures. They were all taken in low-light conditions because I made this rack back in the winter and all inside, so they're a little harsh.)

Kate has a great, great tutorial here. But I'll offer my own humble tutorial too.

What You'll Need
2' x 2' precut wood (1/2 inch thick), larger if you'd like
Two 1/2" by 2" poplar boards
Two 3/8" dowel rods
Sash lock (the kind you use on a window)
Pin hinges (I'd suggest smaller, more narrow ones than I used.)
Tack nails
Hammer
Screwdriver
Drill with 5/8" drill bit
3' small link chain
4 medium eye screw eyes
Three knobs
Primer
Sandpaper
Wood putty
Wood glue
Paint
Paint brushes

Now that's a miter saw. It's old. It's an antique even, and I loved every second of using it. (Except maybe when it had trouble sawing.)


Step 1: Sand the board and round the edges (if you like).



Step 2: Measure and cut at 45-degree angles the 1/2" x 2" boards to fit the 2' x 2' wood. If you want to have the knobs on the bottom, make the vertical sides about four inches shorter than the horizontal sides. With your wood glue, glue the boards together, one corner at a time. Then gently hammer in nails, coming from both directions to secure the frame.

To make placing dowel rods easier, leave one of the vertical sides off until you've put the rods in and are ready to finish the frame.

Step 3: Cut your dowel rods to fit inside your rack frame (about a 1/2" shorter than the width of the frame). From the top of the frame, measure down equal distances for your dowel rods. With a 5/8" drill bit and your drill, prepare holes for the dowel rod. Do not go all the way through the board. Drill in about half way. Then dab a little wood glue on the ends of the dowel rods. Put them into one side of the frame and then the final side, securing in place with glue and nails. You may need a rubber mallet to get the dowel rods into the drilled holes completely.


Step 4: Place the frame on the board and mark holes for hinges. With your screwdriver or drill, prepare pilot holes for the screws. Then screw on the hinges. You could use invisible or narrow hinges so they aren't as noticeable as mine.


Step 5: (Sorry, I don't seem to have pictures for this step.) Screw in your medium eye screw eyes into the sides of the board and the frame. Cut enough linked chain (twice) to allow the drying rack frame to hang down. You can choose the angle. More chain, larger angle.

Step 6: Prime and paint the entire rack. (Cat not an acceptable substitute for paint brushes.) I filled in a few holes in the board with some wood putty and sanded it down before priming. I used a basic white satin paint for the white and Glidden's Butterscotch for the back. (I got a free quart a few months back, and I was pumped to find a project I could use it on.)


To paint mine, I took it apart. (Yes, just after having put it together.) You can leave it together like Kate did, and just cover the back with newspaper in order to paint the rack. Or take them apart, like I did. Either way.


Step 7: When your paint is very dry, you need to attach your sash. Place the sash where it needs to be on top. Mark screw holes with a pen or pencil, and use your drill to make pilot holes. Then screw in the screws to hold the sash in place.


Step 8: Drill holes in the bottom of the board and put in your knobs.


Step 9: In order to hang this (as it is somewhat heavy), I used a French cleat. It's designed to hold very, very heavy loads. Martha Stewart uses them to hang headboards. Plus, I screwed this into the wall's studs, so this little rack can take some weight if I need to hang something heavier on the hooks. (Remember: the dowel rods can only handle so much weight. Keep them for lighter things.)

I also glued felt to the back in order to protect the wall and the drying rack from scratches.


Then I screwed in the other side of the cleat into the studs. Slipped the cleat together, and it's done!






The whole rack was relatively inexpensive. I actually already had the piece of board. The paint was a free sample. My grandmother gave me the porcelain knobs. The French cleat was expensive, in comparison to a wire and D-hooks. It was about $17. But well worth it at least for me.

Total cost: About $25.

Ballard drying rack: $89 + shipping and handling

Doing laundry just got a little sweeter. :)

♥ Kimberly


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Look, mom! I'm sewing!

c-u-r-r-u-m-p!

c-u-r-r-u-m-p!

c-u-r-r-u-m-p!

Saturday morning's siren call. My mom and her shears.

Methodically slicing through the delicate tissue paper, the foundation for a skirt, a sleeve, a dress.

My mom once asked me to help sew some chair backs for her classroom. "It's just straight lines," I thought. "No big deal."

I'm certain I made more of a headache than my "help" was worth.

A bad first experience, to say the least.

15 years later, with the encouragement of you fellow bloggers, I asked to try again.

My first venture, a success.

My second, a garment bag, here. Fodder for future projects. Encouragement to try something new.

♥ Kimberly

Step 1: Iron the two right sides together for more-precise cutting. Cut the material for the size of bag you want. Mine was a 13-by-31-inch piece of fabric that eventually created an 11-by-13-inch bag.


Step 2: Pin together (with right sides facing) the two pieces of material.




Step 3: Sew together, running along your pins, about 5/8-inch in.


Iron the material again. (I probably iron too much, but it doesn't hurt, right?)


Step 4: Flip the material inside out, with right sides facing out. Then iron along the seam to create a fold.


Step 5: Create your channels. At the ends, I tucked under the material and created a small hem for a more finished product.



Then fold the ends over to allow for your string's channel. I pinned it down 1-1/2 inch and stitched 1/8 of an inch from the inner edge.


Then iron the channels.


Step 6: Fold the pouch in half so the inner material is facing out. Stitch long sides with a 1/4 to 5/8 inches seam. Be sure to leave 1 1/2 inches at top for the channels. Then flip the bag outside in.


Step 7: For your channel, you could also use ribbon, material, rope, etc. I used quilt binding.


Fold the binding in and stitch along the edges to keep the binding in place.


Cut two strips of string or cord the width of the bag plus three to four inches. Or cut a strip twice the width of the bag plus three to four inches. And then cut it in half to make two, or don't cut and leave only one end to sew.


To make getting the binding through the channel easier, attach a safety pin on the end and pull it through the best way you can.



Step 8: To finish, you can either stitch together the ends of the binding or tie them. For this bag, I chose to stitch the binding together and then turn the binding into the bag so the ends weren't visable.


And then you're done! Really not that hard (for us newbies). And you can always use a bag, right? Make this bag in a variety of sizes - for jewelry, clothes, shoes, etc.







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Stars & Stripes Headbands

Once I figured out how to make some simple flowers (the ones on the 4th of July wreath here), I just kept making them.

But then I found a spare headband lying around my bathroom, and I thought, "Why not?!"


You've still got a little time before the Fourth. And it's so easy! Make one for you, and your sister, and your best friend, and your daughter, and your mom.... :)


What You'll Need
long strips of fabric
sewing machine
glue gun
felt, cut into circles
buttons

What You'll Do
Check the directions here.



If the frayed edge isn't for you, totally fine. In the flowers below, I took a strip, flipped it over (with right side down), folded in the frayed edges to the center, then folded the strip in half. When I sewed the pleats, the edges were sewn under so there weren't any frayed edges on the outside.



What other type of fabric flowers do you like? I'm anxious to try other ones!


♥ Kimberly

I'm linking up to these parties:

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