I’d been searching for a while for a way to bring texture to our great room walls. I knew I didn’t want wall moldings in here because I have lots of plans for different wall finishes throughout the house and want to leave the main areas simple. So I started looking in to getting an oversized wall hanging and, guest what? The really nice kind are also really expensive! Since I want to keep the option to change things up in our main living spaces throughout the seasons/years, I couldn’t justify spending close to $1,000.00 CAD on a wall piece, so I improvised…
Inspiration – $600 USD (plus tax and shipping):
If it’s within your budget, I say always go for the real thing. Here’s the Blacksaw hanging that got my wheels turning:
Dupe – $30-$60 CAD:
Materials Needed:
- Throw – Must be the width and length that you want for your hanging. Ideally it doesn’t have any tassels or fringe but, if it does, you can simply cut those off as I did (just remember that the overall length of the throw will change when you cut off the tassels).
- Wood for mount – You can use maple if you’re wanting to stain it or MDF wall trim will work if you’re looking to paint it instead. It will need to be the width (horizontally) of your throw PLUS 2 inches (one inch overhang on either side) and should be around 2-3″ high. Depending how much you want it to protrude from the wall, anywhere from 1-2″ thick is good.
- Double sided tape
- Nail gun
- Level
- Knitting yarn and needle (only if you are cutting off tassels and need to add a border to the throw)
- Iron and ironing board
- A second person to help hold up the hanging when mounting
Tutorial:
1. Before hanging anything on the wall, map out where you want your art to be (I used a pencil and level to draw it out on the wall and then just cleaned it off with a magic eraser). Be sure to look at your design from different angles in the room to gauge if the hanging is the right size/height/location/etc.
2. Once you’re happy with the approximate lay out, measure it and that will give you an estimate of the size of throw you need (plus or minus a few inches). I purchased a 50″ x 70″ decorative throw from Home Sense; the height after I cut off the tassels was 64″.
If you don’t have any tassels or fringe, you can skip to Step 5.
3. Lay out your throw flat on the ground. Using sharp scissors, cut off the tassels on both ends of the throw. Since one end will be covered by the mount, you only need to worry about stitching the bottom side.
4. I used knitting yarn from Michael’s that I had on hand from a previous project and a yarn needle to stitch the edge. I chose to do a blanket stitch since it is the kind of stitch that looks good when done with thick yarn and gives the fabric a finished look. If you’ve never done a blanket stitch before, Holiday Crafts and Creation has a great tutorial here.
5. Once your edge is nicely stitched up, you’ll need to iron the throw to get rid of all of the creases. I thought I had been thorough with this step but the fold lines are still very visible on our hanging, so be sure to really iron and, if possible, steam every inch of the throw (also, if your throw is machine washable, consider washing it to get rid of the new-blanket folds). If you still see creases after you hang it up, like we do, all you’ll need is a good steamer, something plastic to place behind the throw while steaming (to avoid damaging the wall) and a lot of patience.
7. I happened to have a long piece of trim that my millwork company had left behind when they installed our kitchen. It was already stained the same brown that I’ve used throughout the house, so all I had to do was cut it to size.
You can either use two boards to “sandwich” your throw in between or mount the fabric to one piece of trim and apply directly to the wall like we did.
Here is how the “real” (expensive) hanging is mounted – with one maple piece on either side and the throw sandwiched in the middle.
Here’s how we mounted it with one piece only. I debated adding a simple MDF flat stock piece to the back but I prefer the thinner profile of just the front mount.
8. Once you’ve figured out the width/length/stain of your trim piece, use double sided tape to attach the fabric to the mount. This method won’t “stand the test of time” in terms of staying power but it should keep the throw in place long enough for you to either sandwich it with the second piece or hang it directly to the wall (depending on which mounting option you choose).
9. Enter Person #2 (i.e.: your helper). With each person holding one end of the mount (and holding the fabric as well so it doesn’t unstick), place the hanging against the wall, at the desired height. Use a level to make sure it is straight and then use a nail gun to secure the hanging to the wall.
10. I intended to drill three black screws with washers to the trim once it was hung to give it the finished look that the inspiration piece has; however, once it was up, I liked that the finishing nails were not visible and it just looked like one solid piece of wood. It’s a matter of personal preference at this stage; just be sure that if you do want to add decorative screws, you are careful not to split the trim piece (this is especially important if your wall mount is only a couple of inches high).
11. Step back and take in your new (seriously less expensive) work of art!
That’s it! Since I had everything except for the throw on hand, this project cost me $35 and took about 1.5 hours to do. It may not be a designer piece but it’s definitely a unique one!
Hope this tutorial inspires you to make a hanging of your own. Feel free to ask any questions below and be sure to tag me (@casa_cres) on Instagram if you do make one – would love to see what you create!
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