Spring officially begins a week from today, and with the unseasonably warm weather we’ve had of late, buds and blooms are bursting out all over.
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Making plant hangers from bits and pieces of rope and ribbon you have around the house is a great way to dress up your springtime garden.
You can find hooked garden stakes, perfect for hanging candles or plant holders, in garden shops or the garden section at department stores. We found some very nice ones for $1 each at the Dollar Plus store in Smokey Point.
Plant pots and dishes of all kinds will serve as containers to be held by your plant hangers; it just depends on what you’ll be using the hanging container for. And remember, you can use them for more than plants.
Hanging dishes can hold chips, dips, nuts and other treats at garden parties, and hanging candles are fun, although you won’t be able to use the ribbon or rope hangers in this column for candles because of flammability. We’ll be showing you some wire and beaded hangers in future columns.
Once you’ve decided on the purpose of your hanging pot or dish, you’re ready to begin making the hangers.
Unless you want a specific kind of ribbon or rope, check out the supplies you may already have at home.
To make our white rope and sisal twine hanger, we used a bit of rope left over from a previous craft project and some sisal twine from the tool cabinet.
Using a crochet hook of your choice (we prefer a Susan Bates hook, size 10 or K, for most crafting purposes – see note below) and some rope (such as the white rope in our sample), crochet a base chain the width of your choice depending on the kind of pot or dish you plan to use.
Keep your width between 1 and 3 inches, however, as anything narrower than 1 inch will make the hanger unstable and anything wider than 3 inches will be too cumbersome.
When your width is selected, crochet 3 more chains beyond the desired width, turn and double crochet in the 3rd chain from the end and double crochet in each chain to the end. Chain 3, turn, *double crochet in each space to the end, chain 3, turn and repeat from * for subsequent rows until the piece is long enough to reach across the bottom and up to the edges of the pot or dish you will be holding. Next, using sisal twine, cut enough lengths of twine to fit 3 through each crochet space in the ends of your crocheted piece (we needed 12 lengths as we had 4 spaces), and long enough (when folded in half and braided) to make the hanger the length you want. The length is completely up to you, based on the size dish or pot you are using.
Fold 3 strands of twine in half and loop them through a crochet space; repeat for each crochet space on both ends of the crocheted rope piece.
Separate all sisal strands into three groups, as evenly as possible, and braid them into one strand, leaving 2 or 3 inches at each end.
Find the exact center of the crocheted rope piece and mark. Then cut enough lengths of sisal twine to make a braided strand equal to the width of the sisal strands on each end of the rope piece.
Cut the lengths long enough to match the length of the rope and sisal piece; allowing a little extra for braiding.
Run 3 strands of sisal in and out of the crochet spaces crosswise through the white rope piece, making sure that you have an equal number of 3-strands on each side of the exact center and that the strands are of equal length on each side of the center toward the top of the hanger.
Separate the sisal strands on each side of the crocheted piece into equal thirds, as equally as possible, and braid each side together to make the side chains. Leave 2 or 3 inches at each end.
Gather the four chains together at the top and tie off tightly with a length of sisal twine. Add decorative beads to the ends of the tied-off twine if desired, and trim the ends so they are equal.
To make our crocheted ribbon hanger, choose a ribbon that is comfortable for you to crochet and follow the same instructions for crocheting as above.
Crochet one solid chain long enough, when folded in half, to form one of four lengths that will hold your pot or dish. When finished, crochet a second chain of equal length.
Find the center of each chain and join the two together, crosswise, with a needle and thread, to form the hanger.
Cut some short lengths of ribbon and attach the four ends of the two chains together at the top; tie off to form a hanger.
You can run a couple of strands of ribbon through each crochet space on the four ends to make a fringe if desired.
Place your chosen pot or dish in the hanger, hang it on a hooked garden stake, and enjoy this sunny springtime.
Note: We like Susan Bates crochet hooks because they are made of a sleek aluminum and the hook is easy to work with. Other aluminum hooks – such as Boye – are every bit as good, but the hook end is slightly different and we find that the Susan Bates version suits our crochet style better.
You may find just the opposite, so try out a couple of different hooks if you’ve not crocheted before. The hooks are inexpensive enough to try several different brands, styles and sizes.
Contact Jonetta Coffin at jrocoffin@aol.com.
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