Burlap Door Hanger Tutorial

Two years ago I posted a picture of my Burlap Pumpkin Door Hanger and everyone asked for a tutorial. Well I’m happy to tell you that two years later I tried to show you how to make a burlap door hanger. Tried. I’m clumsy. Clumsy Crafter is the name for a reason. There were a few bumps and bruises on the way but there is a burlap door hanger tutorial for you today. Please excuse the craziness.

To start we’re going to have to use our imaginations because the other day when I was taking pictures of the beautiful views I went delete crazy on my camera.  Accidently I deleted the first few steps of this project from my camera’s memory card. 

The good news is that to make a burlap door hanger you use the exact same steps as you use on this burlap christmas ornament but on a larger scale. So if you need to see pictures, hop of there to take a quick look. 

To start you lay out two layers of burlap. Trace the outline of your project on the top layer of burlap, making it slightly wider than you want it to turn out. For this one I made a candy cane however a christmas tree would also be very cute. 

Cut out both layers of burlap at the same time. You want two of the exact same shape as you can see in the picture below. 

Now that you have two of the same shape, paint one of them to look like the design you have chosen using acrylic craft paint. Warning, burlap soaks up paint like crazy. You will use a lot of paint. For the white part of this candy cane I used an entire small bottle of acrylic craft paint. 

Another warning: Paint the burlap on top of paper or a drop cloth so that you won’t have to scrub your kitchen table and do not paint it on top of the other piece of burlap. 

How do I know this you ask?

I painted one layer while  it was on top of the other layer and then set them to the side without thinking. The paint seeped through the burlap and they are permanently stuck together. I cut off any of the second layer that I could but I wound up having to cut another piece and start fresh with the bottom piece. 

Once you have the top piece painted and dry and the bottom piece not stuck to it, you are ready to hot glue the edges together. 

Go around the edges on the back of the painted piece of burlap with hot glue. You just want the edges glued together. Press the bottom piece on top and seal the edges together as if you were sewing them. 

Now you’ll have a pocket in the middle to stuff with poly stuffing.  My tip is to start at one end and slowly work your way to the other, glueing the sides for a few inches and then stuffing that area before gluing any further. This helps you stuff it without stretching out any burlap by trying to fit your hand down in it to press the stuffing down inside there.  When you’re finished the back should look like the picture above. You can see the lines on the edges where it has been glued versus the plush area in the middle of the candy cane that has stuffing. 

If you are going to hang this in a covered area outside than you might want to stuff it with plastic grocery bags which would hold up better in humidity or moisture. 

Now after you have handled it so much you will notice that the edges are very frayed. This is a simple fix. Use scissors to trim the edges straight through the dried hot glue. If any seams open up, just reglue them. 

Now your door hanger will be stuffed and ready to hang. 

Use floral wire to create a simple hanger by pressing the wire through the burlap weave. 

This is what it will look like close up when you’re done. The paint on top of the burlap leaves a wonderful texture and gives the project a rustic look.  Add any embellishments that you would like and hang it up! 

It’s a great project because the burlap makes it extremely affordable while giving it great texture. It’s a fun craft to do with friends that anyone can make. 

What do you think? Was it a total fail or did I pull it together in the end? Stop by my Facebook Page and let me know what you think.