Sean Conway

In many parts of the country the cooler temperatures of fall mean that deer hunting season is about to get under way.

But you don't have to be a hunter to enjoy stalking through the woods for a deer trophy. Every year, in late fall and winter, deer shed their antlers, and they're relatively easy to find if you take regular walks through the woods.

Nothing beats antlers for adding a rustic feel to home decor. Think of them as a renewable resource for any number of craft projects -- making lamp finials, drawer pulls, door handles and even buttons. If you find an antler big enough, you can make a version of the coat hook described below. (Note: If you can't find any in the woods, antlers are readily available online.)

To make an antler coat rack, you'll need an antler, leather, nylon leather thread (available at most craft stores and online), rubber cement, sandpaper, dish soap and three outdoors screws. Tools you'll need that you might not already have are tapestry needles and a screw punch to make holes in the leather. These can be bought at many craft stores.

Begin by cleaning the antler with dish soap and cold water. Trim off tines (tips of antler) to a blunt end with band saw (or pull saw and a vise) and sand the cut edges.

Next, cut three strips of leather about 3/4 inch to 1 inch wide and about 6 inches long. These will be used to attach antler to the door or wall.

To determine placement of leather strips on antler before cutting strips to length, lay antler flat on table with tines facing you. Place strips -- one to left of leftmost tine, one to right of rightmost tine, and one to left of the center tine.

Wrap one leather strip around antler at designated spot. Each strip should wrap around antler and double back on itself with at least 1 1/2 inches of extra length on each end. Thicker parts of antler will need more length in the leather strips.

Fold each strip in half and use screw punch to make holes (1.5mm diameter) along three cut exterior edges of the strip. Holes should be about 1/8-inch apart and about 1/16 from the edge. (By folding the leather strip and punching the cut sides, you make matching holes on both ends of leather strip. Make sure not to punch holes in folded edge.) Repeat punching on remaining two leather strips.

The leather strips will be attached to the antler using No. 20 tapestry needle threaded with nylon thread. Wrap a leather strip around antler, matching up holes. At this point, you can glue the ends of the leather strip together using rubber cement to create an overhanging tab. Start sewing at hole closest to antler, sewing around three sides of leather tab with a whipstitch. When stitches meet antler, continue to whipstitch the leather edge that wraps around antler. Repeat this process for each leather strip.

Punch hole in center of each leather tab at the top for screw. Screw to a door or wall through the punched holes. Cover screw heads with a small circle of leather using rubber glue to attach, if desired.

 

 

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Home Decor & Interior Design
Hang Your Hat on This Winter Trophy