Make a Clothespin Rocking Chair!

in #crafts6 years ago (edited)

Here's an inexpensive and fun craft you can try at home! Just grab a package of cheap clothespins at the Dollar Tree or your local equivalent purveyor of cheap disposable junk. A single package of 36 clothespins can make a pair of chairs this way!

For glue, I recommend against the Dollar Store cheap white PVA Elmer's glue knockoff though. It works, but good carpenter's glue or Aleen's Tacky Glue sets a lot faster and bonds a lot better even while still wet so you can build faster.

20181002_203005.jpg

Step 1 is clothespin dissassembly. Discard the metal springs and keep the wood halves for the project. Don't mix up the discard pile and the project materials pile, or the rest of these instructions will make absolutely no sense. Just take my word on that.

20181002_204311.jpg

The next step is to glue eleven pairs of clothespin halves together.

  • 2 pairs face to face
  • 4 pairs back to back
  • 5 pairs back to back with the ends flipped

There should also be at least a dozen loose pieces for other parts of this project.

20181002_204448.jpg

These are the pieces needed for the two side sections. Dry-fit everything before gluing anything!

20181002_210054.jpg

Once the glue is applied, stack the halves and eyeball everything so they match. Just be sure to not accidentally glue them together at this point, because that will make the rest of the project a wee bit difficult.

20181002_214932.jpg

The final glued pair of clothespin halves is the bottom rail linking the sides. The halves on the ends are NOT glued in place. They're just a handy measurement trick to help keep the side parallel. Just eyeballing that doesn't work too well.

20181002_220412.jpg

Almost done! Just glue in four more clothespin halves! Two support the seat, and two form the backrest. More half-clothespins can be added to make the backrest more complete, or it can just be left as-is.

20181002_221421.jpg

The seat is formed by laying five halves flat. I splurged on a 19th clothespin for a more elaborate backrest for this model.

I will use the rest of the clothespins to make a non-rocking chair, since I won't have enough for a second pair of rockers now. Watch the comments for a picture of that!

Sort:  

SO cool!
I could actually see myself as a little girl wanting to have these for my Barbie dolls and other toys!

Very cool. You ever wonder who and how someone came up with that idea lol?

I found one several years ago at a garage sale and gave it to my mother as a chair for a teddy bear she had as a decoration.

I thought of it recently as we were brainstorming ideas for library-sponsored craft projects, and it turns out an internet search revealed it's a modestly popular idea for crafty people.

Great idea, now I know what I can craft with my kids

Posted using Partiko Android

And if you want to add a splash of color, acrylic paints are a cheap and easy way to take this project to the next level!

A tip that many people don't realize - house paints (not gloss), are acrylic..and much cheaper than hooby/modelling, little pots..( nice chair!, btw)

True, but a sale at Michael's , Hobby Lobby, or Joann Fabric for a small bottle of basic craft paint in the color you want is still usually a decent deal.

Great school holidays project. I'll do it with the kids tomorrow. Thanks :)

Darn it. One clothespin left over. It would have been two, but there were two halves that had major structural problems. One of the risks of buying dollar store crap.

20181002_225910.jpg

Coin Marketplace

STEEM 0.16
TRX 0.17
JST 0.030
BTC 70398.02
ETH 2518.89
USDT 1.00
SBD 2.55