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DIY Blanket Storage Display Ladder

Many of you asked in yesterday’s post where I buy my knit fabric.  Check out the FAQ section for the normal places but, I noticed yesterday (after posting….darn) that Pick Your Plum has a bunch of striped knit on sale!  They are selling it for $4.99/meter (slightly longer than a yard) and holy smokes…..the stripes are DARLING!  I’ll admit, I bought 8 meters yesterday.  But you know how it goes, once they sell out, it’s gone…….so hurry on over!  Striped Knit Fabric (and other cool stuff) HERE.

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Onto today’s post:

 

I shared months ago that I wanted to open up the free days on my blog (that I wasn’t blogging) to others who would love to fill those gaps and showcase their own work.  Your talent out there is INCREDIBLE…..and I love sharing this little outlet with others who get a kick out of creating, like I do. :)  So, today is another day you get to see the craftiness of someone else.  Pull up a chair (or a sofa) and enjoy with me……you won’t be disappointed.

 

-Ashley :)

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Hi, Make It and Love It readers, I’m so thrilled to be posting here today at Ashley’s little corner of the interwebs. I’m Jan, momma to four adorable little girls and an angel baby boy, a family and child portrait photographer, and DIY blogger at Impressions by Jani.

 

And with Ashley’s recent announcement about her bun in the oven, this project could not be timed better!

 

My nine-month-old baby girl’s nursery is tiny–barely 10×10 in size. I’ve tried to incorporate as much storage as possible into the space to help me stay organized, and I designed this simple blanket ladder as a way to display and store treasured baby blankets from loved ones.

 

 

 

 

I love to see the crocheted afghan from my grandma that we’ve used to bless each of our daughters every time I walk into the room.

 

 

 

 

I also use this DIY ladder to store the swaddle blankets my baby girl loves so much–it’s so simple to reach over a grab one as needed at bedtime.

 

 

 

 

The best part for me is that this ladder takes up virtually no floor space in my tiny nursery. It lived there by the changing table for a while, but when I wanted to add some hooks to the wall by the closet, I moved it behind my rocking chair.

 

This space was truly wasted before, but now I can use it to store and display my blankets without sacrificing even an inch of play space.

 

 

 

Want to know how to make one?

 The process couldn’t be simpler —

 

 

The instructions as follows are for a small, baby-sized blanket ladder, but this project could easily be scaled up with more sturdy lumber to make a quilt display rack for heirloom or vintage quilts. Just substitute a 2×4 or 2×6 for the 1×2 and get a heavy duty wood rod and you’ll be in business.

 

You will need:

  • 1- 1x2x12 board cut in half
  • 2- 3/4″ dowels
  • miter saw (optional)
  • drill
  • 3/4″ spade bit
  • wood glue
  • finishing nails
  • hammer
  • paint or stain of your choice

 

 

 

Start with your wood. I had my 1x2x12 cut in half at the store to fit in my car.

 

 

Then, I wanted to angle the ends of the ladder for a decorative look, so I set my miter saw at a 45-degree angle and sawed off both 1×2’s just a bit at each end.

 

 

Then I also cut my dowels down to size–mine are 17″ long, but I don’t seem to have a photo of this step. If you don’t have a miter saw or access to one, you can have a nice hardware store worker to cut yours down or use a simple, inexpensive miter box like this. Next, I laid everything out on the floor in my workshop (cough *garage* cough) to eyeball spacing and decide how many rungs I wanted.

 

 

This is another place where you can customize this project to your own needs–if you want your ladder to be taller with more rungs, go for it! I measured and did a little math, so I decided to space my rungs 15″ apart after placing the top and bottom rungs 2 inches from the ends. To attach the rungs to the side pieces of the ladder, I used this handy tool.

 

It’s called a spade bit, and you can get them in sets for your cordless drill.

 

 

 

I used it to drill pocket holes for the rungs at evenly spaced intervals the length of the side pieces.  See the tiny hole in the center of the larger hole? That’s going to come in handy when you attach everything together…

 

 

…because on the other side of the board from that hold is this.  See tiny pin holes in the center of each of those boards? That’s where the very center of the spade bit came barely through the side pieces of the ladder.

 

 

To attach the rungs, I simply filled a bored hole with wood glue, set the rung in place, then hammered a finish nail in through the pin hole on this outside edge. Sadly, it’s hard to take a picture of yourself when you’re hammering with one hand and holding a rung in place with the other hand, but this is what you’ll end up with.

 

 

Wipe away any excess glue from around your joint, then continue adding rungs to your pre-drilled holes until you have this:

 

 

At this point you’ll fill all the holes in the other side piece with wood glue, place the rungs in the holes, and attach your finish nails. And voila!

 

 

Now you have a finished blanket ladder. Once the glue dries, paint or stain it to your liking. I chose to keep it simple and just spray paint it white–I want the blankets I display to be the star, not the ladder itself. But still, for such a simple project, I love the result.

 

 

The blankets look so pretty. I spend a good amount of time in this room with my littlest miss, and I love to be reminded of all the special people in our lives who have spent countless hours making precious blankets for our little ones.

 

 

Don’t you think Ashley needs one in her nursery for her newest little bundle?

 

Enjoy,

Jan

 

 

Check out Jan’s blog HERE.

 

Ashley Johnston

Administrator at Make It & Love It
Ashley Johnston is a professional DIY costume maker, sewist, crafter, and owner of Make It & Love It. She is a mom of 5 and a wife to a very patient (with the craft clutter) husband. In case you’re wondering, she always chooses crafting/sewing/designing over mopping/dusting/wiping base boards……but bathrooms/laundry/full bellies are always attended to. Whew!

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Hi, I'm Ashley

Hi, I’m Ashley—the DIY-enthusiast behind this crazy blog!

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