Make It!
While caned furniture has been trending lately, prominently featured in current interior decorating publications, it has been utilized in furniture fabrication for thousands of years.
Cane is derived from the outer skin of a rattan stalk. Rattan thrives in tropical forests, growing in a way that almost resembles a vine. It can reach hundreds of feet in length and measures approximately 2-5 cm in diameter. When rattan is harvested, the bark is processed into narrow pieces, which are woven to make cane furniture.
Caned pieces are light, airy, and sustainable. They mix well with many different types of decor, and bring a cool and casual vibe to any space.
This week, Julia experimented with creating her own caned piece: a hanging jewelry organizer. It is just as beautiful as it is practical. Here’s how she did it:
Let’s get to making!
Ever go to put your favorite earrings on and just get frustrated at how hard it is to keep your jewelry organized? Me. Every day. So I had enough and came up with this project to help! I’m passionate about functionality being beautiful, especially if it’s something I use every day.
I have yet to find a “DIY” jewelry project that I can get behind to solve this problem. So I thought I’d combine my current love of cane rattan with a versatile solution to solve this problem. No fabric covered picture frames to have to find space for on my wall for, no ugly wire mesh or bulky hooks. I have a small closet space so it needed to be functional.
I hope you guys love this because I’m totally taken with it! Don’t worry, no power tools are needed! But if you have them then by all means use them if it will make it easier for you. I purposely didn’t use them so that this could be a project that anyone could do with just things they have around the house or be affordable to purchase.
Ok, what are we making?
THIS beauty!
Here’s What You Will Need
Cutting Board
Staple Gun
Staples (**make sure they are not longer than the thickness of your wood pieces!)
Sharp Utility Knife
18X12 Roll Of Cane Woven Rattan (or whatever size you’d like :). Here’s the link where I purchased mine for $16. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product
A Sturdy Pants Hanger. (I had an old vintage one laying around)
2-3 Wood Pieces for Framing it out. Sourced from Hobby Lobby. $2.99 Each
Scissors, Pencil, Sandpaper
Wood Glue
Step 1 : Start by measuring out the top and bottom pieces of wood. Allow at least an overlap amount of 1/4’’ of wood on each side.
Step 2 : Make a straight line with your pencil and score with your utility knife on ***all*** sides and edges.
Place on a strong straight surface and carefully bend till the piece breaks free.
If you are not careful to put some muscle behind your scoring THIS will happen!
Buff any edges down with sandpaper.
Step 3 : Start with the bottom piece you just cut, lay it under the rattan sheet and evenly trim off any over hang. Be careful to not get too close to the last woven row or it will start to unravel.
Step 4: Once you have trimmed, make sure your cane sheet is facing front down on your bottom wood strip. Center and overlap about a 1/2’’ and staple about every inch making sure your staples are grabbing horizontally the cane.
Step 5: Measure and cut in the same manner the left and right side strips of wood frame, making sure the top and bottom piece are capping the corners.
Repeat trim step and staple pattern starting with left piece, then top, then right side to help keep everything taunt and square. Here’s a tip for the corners! Bridge them with at least two staples to keep them strong. I also kept the fringe on the top because I liked the texture.
Step 6: Wood Glue! A little goes a long way. From the front, flex the corner seams and put a little dap in each. Wipe off any excess.
Then lay on flat, hard surface and place heavy things on the corners. Let dry for at least 2hrs or more.
When the glue has set, sand down gently any glue that appears so be showing on the front. Bam! Pop that pants hanger on and you have yourself a chic beautiful earring holder that you can hang in your closet and display all of your Spectrum Handcrafted Earrings!
Cane Rattan Photos Credits : image 1= https://www.loveantiques.com/antique-furniture/cane , images 2,3,4= https://shaneschic.com/2016/04/29/rattan/ , wall shelf https://www.urbanoutfitters.com/shop/marte-two-tiered-wall-shelf
Project photos credit : Julia Riffel
