Padded hangers look much prettier than plain wooden ones and are much kinder to your clothes. This hanger is made from scraps of fabric and takes no time at all to make. The flower is made from simple petal shapes hand stitched together and finishes the hanger off beautifully. Ideal as a gift, you could throw in some dried lavender before stitching the cover on to fragrance it, too.
1 hour
1. Cover the coat hanger with wadding, stitching the wadding securely in place, and trim off any excess. Enlarge the template (see instructions). Trace onto the main fabric and cut out. Turn under and press 1 cm/⅜ in. to the wrong side all around. Lay the padded coat hanger on the top half of the fabric and fold up the bottom half to cover the hanger.
2. Starting from the centre and working outwards on each side, using double thread, work a row of large running stitches along the top of the hanger, gathering the fabric slightly as you go and securing it at the end.
3. Using the template, cut four large flower shapes from gingham fabric. Work a small circle of running stitches in the centre of each flower, then pull the thread to gather the fabric. Stitch the four shapes together at their gathered points to form one complete flower.
4. Repeat with two spotty fabrics, making the final layer smaller. Stitch all three flowers together. Stitch a red-and-white gingham ribbon bow to the centre of the flower with a button.
