How to Make a Book Sling

If you have a child who loves to read youve probably noticed that his or her books are beginning to take up quite a bit of space. Thinking of purchasing a bookcase for the readers bedroom? Forget it! Bookcases hold lots of books, sure, but theyre bulky and they take up a lot of room. Instead, make a book sling, hang it on the wall, and your child will have plenty of storage space for books! Choose a piece of fabric that coordinates with your childs room. Stretchy fabrics do not work for this project. Choose thick fabric or a fabric of a medium weight. Really lightweight fabrics are not ideal. Youll need a piece of material that is 48"x32". Although you can make the sling a little shorter youll need to keep the 32" width.

Many sewing jobs can now be done with fabric glue, but when it comes to the book sling, thats not the case. The weight of the books is too much for glue so youll need to sew the sling. The sewing is very simple, so if youre a beginner, you dont have to worry. The project is easy enough even for those without much experience.

At the two short ends of the fabric, fold the material over an inch, then fold again, this time, two inches. Hem. Do this to both ends. Now go to one of the long sides of the material. Fold it over an inch, then 3 1/2" inches. Hem. Do this to both long ends of the material. You know how some people hang sheer curtains, then drapes over them, to create a layered look? Youll need the curtain hardware to do just that. Youll need two of the short rod holders and two of the longer ones. However, you dont need the curtain rods themselves. The type of rod holder hardware youll need is the kind that allows you to lay the rod on it. To hang the book sling attach the small rod holders to the wall. Place them so that theyre 42" apart. Make sure theyre hung perfectly even with each other. Slide a 44" dowel rod - which is 3" in diameter - into the rod pocket on one long side of the fabric. To make sure its hung properly, hold the fabric so that the wrong side is facing you, then thread the rod through the pocket from left to right. Hang this rod on the hardware. Slide an identical dowel rod into the opposite rod pocket, hang the longer hardware, then hang the second side of the book sling. Now the hanging sling can hold quite a few books. Kids will find it much easier to recognize the book they want because they can see the front of it, rather than the spine, as they would if the books were in bookcases.