How to make a Clothes Hanger Cover

Clothes hangers are essential household items and they don’t have to be boring. Jazz up a closet by transforming plain wire or plastic hangers into something fun.

These hanger covers can cost essentially nothing to make by using scrap fabric and leftover trims from other projects.

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Watch this video tutorial and read on for a photo tutorial with step-by-step instructions on how to make a fabric clothes hanger cover.

INSTRUCTIONS for the clothes hanger cover

STEP 1: Make a PATTERN

The first step is to make a pattern. Lay the hanger on a piece of craft paper and trace the hanger, not the hook. 
To the traced hanger pattern, add a ½-inch seam allowance to all the sides and add 2 inches to the bottom. The 5-in-1 slide gauge is the perfect sewing tool for doing this. At the top of the pattern, where the hook begins, make a straight line across the top between the two seam allowances and mark the center.

With regular scissors, cut out the pattern.

STEP 2: CUTTING RECTANGULAR PIECE OF FABRIC

Fold the fabric you will be using to make the cover and position the top of the pattern on the fold.

With a scissor, cut a rectangular piece of fabric by cutting straight up the sides and across the bottom. The buttonhole placement and sewing of the buttonhole is easier with a rectangular piece of fabric.

Crease the fold with an iron and then mark the center of the fabric along the fold as indicated on the pattern with a pin.

STEP 3: MAKING A BUTTONHOLE

The buttonhole will create a neat top opening for the hook of the hanger. It should be approximately 1-inch long. On the fabric crease line from the marked center measure ½-inch in each direction and place a pin.

Most sewing machines come with a buttonhole foot. If yours doesn’t, you can use a very narrow zigzag stitch or make a buttonhole by hand. For a buttonhole tutorial, click the link.

Stitch the buttonhole and then carefully clip the buttonhole open, making sure not to clip into the stitches.

STEP 4: CUTTING PATTERN

To cut the clothes hanger cover, fold the fabric in half with the right sides together and a buttonhole on the fold. Place the pattern on the fabric and with a fabric scissor cut out the hanger cover.

STEP 5: SEWING

At the sewing machine, with the right sides together, sew the cover together using a ½-inch seam allowance leaving the bottom open. If you don’t want to add lace or eyelet trim to the bottom, just hem the bottom edge, turn right-side out, press, and insert the hanger.

EMBELLISHMENTS

If you have some lace, eyelet trim or other decorative trim leftover from another project, you can add it to the bottom edge of the hanger cover.

To embellish, turn the hanger cover right side out and press. Take the embellishment and align it along the bottom edge of the hanger cover with the right sides together. Stitch the trim in place by stitching close to the edge.

After the trim is attached, flip the trim down, and press. For some trims, you may want to topstitch on the fabric close to the trim. When making my hanger covers, I topstitched the hanger with the eyelet trim but found it was not necessary to topstitch the lace hanger.

YOU'RE DONE!

Clothes hanger covers are perfect for hanging special garments in your wardrobe and make great homemade gifts on special occasions including Mother’s Day, housewarming and bridal showers.

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