My wife has one of these hangers left. A friend informed me it is called a drapery hanger. This past Sunday I had to use it to hold up the lower third of my clergy gown so I could transport it to a church where I would have the sermon. My wife informed me I had most certainly better not forget and lose this hanger! I did not forget. And, I decided to make a copy better than the original so we would have a backup.

Step 1: Materials and Tools

The photo shows the original hanger with a cardboard roller across the bottom. At the top of the photo is a dowel rod about 3/4 inch in diameter. The cardboard roll on the original is a little larger in diameter, but this is what I had. Also pictured is some steel rod about 1/8 inch in diameter. It is from a folding tripod floral stand like those used at funerals. I officiated at a funeral and no one wanted the floral stand afterward. The funeral director said it was fine for me to take it for my welding projects. The steel has some bends in it that will need to be straightened.

Materials

1/8 inch steel rod
Larger diameter dowel rod

Tools

Wood saw
Hacksaw
Drill and bit
Vise-Grip pliers
Measuring tape
Hammer
Pipe to form bends
Vise
Welder

Step 2: Straighten the Bends in the Steel Rod

Some preliminary straightening can be done with a Vise-Grip pliers. Then pound the steel flat on an anvil or the flat area on a vise. Twist the rod as it is pounded and most of the bends will disappear completely. See the second photo. Grind a rounded end on one end of the steel rod.

Step 3: Cut and Drill the Dowel

The standard width of a clothes hanger is 18 inches. Cut the dowel for this width. Locate the center of each end. Drill into the center of the dowel about 1 1/2 inches from each end with a bit the size of the steel rod.

Step 4: Measure the Two Halves of the Original Hanger

Use a piece of string or a flexible tape measure to take two measurements. One is defined by the blue line. The other is defined by the green line. In my case, the green line was 19 1/2 inches and the blue line was 13 inches. I added 1 1/2 inches to each as indicated by the black lines. Measure the longer dimension from the rounded end you ground on the steel rod in step 2 and cut the rod. Measure 13 inches from the remainder and cut.

Note: There will be a little welding in step 7. If you do not have access to a welder, you can leave the 13 inch piece an additional 3/4 inch longer beyond the extra 1 1/2 inches and bend a loop around the other piece at the neck of the hanger where the green line and the blue meet each other.

Step 5: The First Bend

Measure in 1 1/2 inches from the blunt end of each piece of rod and make a 90 degree bend.

Step 6: The Second Bend

The finished hanger should have symmetrical bends. I ganged the two pieces of rod together with a Vise-Grip pliers. Then I measured 2 1/2 inches from the 90 degree bend and clamped the two pieces in a vise with a piece of pipe. The pipe will form the gentle radius in the second bend. This will closely approximate the profile of the original hanger.

Step 7: Third Bend

Remove the Vise-Grip pliers from the two rods. Bend the rounded end of the longer piece around a piece of appropriately sized pipe to form the hook at the top of the hanger. You may need to tweak this a little by hand with a pair of ordinary pliers.

Insert the 90 degree bends into the holes in the ends of the dowel rod. Pull the pieces together as you see in the photo and weld them together. Again, if you do not have access to a welder, you can bend some of the extra length discussed in step 4 around the other piece to join the pieces together.

Step 8: The Finished Hanger

I added another bend in the neck of the hanger just below the hook loop held by my finger. This is for the purpose of finding the point at which the bottom of the hanger hangs as close to level as possible. This is a good sturdy hanger, and my wife is impressed. She likes it.

We probably could have waited until the next time my wife sends drapes to the dry cleaner to get another hanger. I am not sure either of us remembered where we got the original hanger. At least now we have a second hanger.

I considered cutting and bending a commercial clothes hanger to fit into holes in a dowel rod, but the wire hangers we have in our closet are not the older, heavier kind. Rather, they are the very light gauge white wire hangers. So, I could not illustrate my idea for converting a commercially made hanger. For anyone who needs a special hanger, this Instructable could be of help to you.