Keeping in theme with this week's fibre art sale @luneshop (thank you to everyone who came), I thought you might enjoy an inexpensive idea for how to hang your vintage rugs, tapestries and macrame. I'm a big fan of copper. I just love that warm metallic tone. Since copper was big in the 70's, it seems like a suitable replacement to the traditional wooden dowel rod you find on most wall hangings. Here's what you need to create a copper pipe tapestry rod.
Supplies:
1/2" copper tube in a 3 foot pre-cut length ($5.89)
2 - 1/2" copper caps ($0.42 each)
1 package of 3/4" copper clamps and nails (10 in a package - $4.38)
How I did it:
Clean the copper tube with orange cleaner to remove the store sticker and any other residue. Rinse with water and dry.
Although copper clamps come in matching 1/2" size, it's important to get one size larger and get the 3.4" clamps. This will allow you to slip your rod easily in and out of the fittings to remove your wall hanging when it needs to be cleaned (vacuuming your art is so fun). It also lets the hanging sit away from the wall a bit, great if your hanging loops are thick.
I did not need to cut my 3 foot tube, but if you do need a shorter length, you can buy a small pipe cutter for under $10. They are easy to use, and will probably come in handy again. There are so many cool things you can make with pipes.
Put the end caps onto your tube. They should slide on easily. If they're loose, you can crimp them a bit with pliers, or stick some double sided tape or glue in there. They give the rod a nice finished look.
Find your centre point on the wall and mark with a pencil. Measure how long your rod is and subtract 4", allowing your pipe to stick out past the clamps by 2" on each side. Mark the distance from your centre mark on both sides.
Measure from the ceiling down to your drill mark on both sides. This measurement will make sure your rod is level. If you have a level, hold up the rod and check your measurements.
Pre-drill with the smallest bit you have.
I have plaster walls so instead of the provided copper nails, I had to use short screws. I covered them with copper tape that I had in my soldering supplies to match the colour of the clamps. This worked well, but simply buying copper screws would be a better alternative.
Screw in your top holes on each side, and drill out the bottom holes, screwing them in.
Hang your tapestry on it's new copper rod and slip the rod into the brackets. You're done!
This rod solution is a great one for updating a beautiful vintage wall hanging. I'm considering using a 6 ft piece for a curtain rod in our living room window actually. Yes, I do have a giant macrame curtain that I'd love to try out. I'll be sure to show those results if I decide to go for it!
