Asked on Jan 06, 2016

Need help with a gift ribbon center for inside a closet

Rebecca
by Rebecca
I want to create a ribbon center for inside a closet. I would like to hang it with dowels rods, so I could just pull the ribbon off the spool to wrap gifts. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am on a budget with this craft closet so the cheaper, the better. Thanks.
  9 answers
  • Valerie Valerie on Jan 07, 2016
    There are quite a few different ideas on Hometalk. Instead of selecting an individual post, I am including a link to my board, which has quite a few examples. I personally like the 'sausage dog' idea, but it all depends on the space you have available and your individual taste. I hope something there appeals to you. Here is the link: http://www.hometalk.com/b/885330/craft-room-and-storage
  • Judy Judy on Jan 07, 2016
    Expanding thin curtain rods.
  • Wanda.ll Wanda.ll on Jan 07, 2016
    Why not use spring tension rods to hang ribbon on and paper on. Just make sure they are tight.
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Jan 07, 2016
    Here are two ideas. www.hometalk.com/diy/craft-room/craft-supply-storage/diy-organised-storage-for-ribbon-string-and-tape-6243336 and www.hometalk.com/diy-ribbon-rack-tutorial
  • Leslie Leslie on Jan 07, 2016
    Hi Rebecca, I don't know what kind of closet or set up you already have and since you want dirt cheap these are my suggestions. Clothes line or any line that will fit the openings of your ribbon spool, contractors Line is cheap, you get a lot of it and you can braid if you want to make it thicker. Check where the rope and clothes line is at HD or Lowes. S hooks made or bought. Wire coat hangers, dowels, long shanked Screw eyes or hooks and Screw Anchors. For the first suggestion you will need longer screw eyes and plastic screw anchors since you may not be attaching to the studs in the wall. An S hook to attach to each end of the thin rope or contractors line. Measure how far between the screw eyes you want to place them and put them in the wall and then cut your line to measure with extra. Attach the clothes line to one S hook and hook onto one Screw eye. Thread the spools on tie your other S hook to the line and hook onto the other eye. If you don't want to buy S hooks you can make with a larger gauge wire such as a wire coat hanger, which you most likely have one or can get at a dry cleaners or maybe a friend has a few. I use a similar gauge in copper wire that you can get at HD or Lowes or left over copper house wiring that I have collected. Other than the string or rope you can use Bungie cords which will already have hooks. Dollar store carries packs with different sizes. The other suggestion is to buy a few dowels and as many of the small curtain rod brackets that you just set a rod on. I THINK they come in longer sizes because I know some are made to support the longer rod in the middle. If you don't want to spend the money on those you can get longer shank screw in hooks at the hardware store ( Don't for get the screw anchors to fit ) Cut your dowels to the size you want, thread your ribbon spools and you are finished. You can also do a simpler version with the dowels. Cut a notch in the dowel use contractors string or similar and tack the string to the wall or tie to a small eye hook. Make a loop in the end of the string and slip it over and past the notch on the dowel. The Last and cheapest idea is to get some wire hangers cut the hook and screw side off. Straighten out and make loops at the ends. Attach contractors line to each looped end and tie one end to one screw eye, the other end attach a home made S hook to the line and you can hook onto the other screw eye. Hope my suggestions were clear. Good Luck
  • Dot D Collett Dot D Collett on Jan 07, 2016
    Whatever you use to thread the spools on use unrolling spacers between rolls, perhaps cut from craft foam. I've worked in flower shops for years and ever time we had spools of ribbon on a bar we had so much trouble with other ribbon unrolling along with the one we were trying to use. It was easier to toss them in and dig them out. The spacers might help.
  • Rebecca Rebecca on Jan 07, 2016
    Sausage dog. Since I have two poodles, couldn't think of a better solution. And my husband has agreed to make them! Thanks everyone.
  • Cindi Cindi on Jan 08, 2016
    I removed the doors to the closet in my sewing room and have one of those cube storage cabinets with the baskets for storage. I buy paper towel holders when I see them at the thrift stores, the heavy steel ones, and paint them all to match and stack my ribbon on them. They are neat, out of the way, and compliment the decor. Some of the smaller ribbon have smaller holes so I got one of those storage boxes at the dollar store and ran a dowel through the middle of it to hold those and keep them in one of the cubes.
  • Opal Opal on Jan 09, 2016
    Spring loaded curtain rods. You pop off the rubber stopper on the end slide on your spools, replace the rubber end and hang. The rods are less than $10. at Walmart. For spacers I used either old ribbon rolls or cut paper towel tubes. Old tread spools will also work.You can also get curtain rings with clips or hooks to hold other things (baskets on 2-3 to hold bows, scissors, tape) that are also held on the same rods. I used these same rods to create a shelves (3 per shelf) to hold paper and fabric. They are much less expensive than wood/plastic shelves and can be changed out easily. For heavier items, I have used shower curtain rods. Here's a link http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-48-75-Adjustable-5-8-Diameter-Chrome-Finished-Tension-Rod/42489142