A few of my favorite home tours of friends in Springfield (one blogged here) included hand-built, standing garment racks for their daughter's vintage dresses. They were both quite different and charming and I've wanted to make one for Ruby ever since! Seeing as I just fixed up my own closet space down in our basement I decided Ruby could use a smaller (less-expensive) garment rack of her own.
I decided on something that was tall enough to facilitate dresses as she grows and that could easily fold up to be moved, stored, or adjusted to a variety of width needs. As someone later pointed out, throw a vintage sheet over it and you've got yourself a fort. Or rather, when your pup tent has been outgrown or the kids aren't using it, turn it into a garment rack. Versatile is good. Great pup tent DIY here.
My supply list is slightly different than the image shares but here's what you'll need to make this garment rack.
SUPPLIES: 4 - 1" x 3" x 6' poplar boards, 3 - 1/2" x 48" poplar dowel rods, drill with 1/2" and 1/8" bits, 2 - screw eye hooks, 2' of chain, wire cutters, plyers, hand saw (or miter saw), pencil, tape measure, protective eye wear, gloves, cardboard, 80 grade sand paper, primer and paint (optional). One: Measure 4.5" up and mark across all four boards. Then measure back down 2.5" from your line and mark a dot in the center of each board. Repeat at the opposite end of each board. Two: Saw across your lines (very carefully and with protective gear). Three: Carefully drill a hole at each end of each board where you made a mark. Sand your boards making sure to sand down around the holes and the saw cuts. Wipe with damp paper towel. Four: Insert rods as shown in image to make sure they fit. The rods should fit snugly in the wood but still be able to adjust with pressure. If you'd like a fixed rack I suggest covering the ends of the rods with wood glue before inserting them through the boards. Five: You'll want to take the rods out and pre-drill a hole with a 1/8" bit about 12" up from the bottom of two boards. Screw in your screw eye hooks. Put rack back together. Six: Use wire cutters to cut your chain to desired width and plyers to attach one end to each screw eye hook. This will keep your rack from sliding too wide if it's loose or if your toddler wants to hang from it like a monkey.
Seven: If you'd like to paint your rack, I suggest one layer of white primer in either a spray paint or acrylic paint. Remove screw eye hooks. Let it dry according to manufacturer's directions. Follow with two coats of your color of choice. I used a black satin spray paint because i had it on hand. Eight: Once dry, reattach your screw eye hooks and enjoy.
As I was shooting the styled photos Ruby came bursting in to her room and, after deciding to remove her favorite boots from the scene, started pulling dresses and admiring them before putting them back. She does not need to be told twice how fun dresses can be and fully appreciates the spin factor.
I'm not sure if she loves dresses because she's been wearing them regularly since she was born or if she would've discovered her affinity for them on her own but it makes me so happy that she's into it. I'm pretty sure when I was a bit older than she is I would only wear leggings with shirts so I'm going to enjoy this phase while I can!
If you have the space I think this would make a great dress-up rack for super hero suits, capes, cowboy vests and hats, and all kinds of princess dresses. Plus, there's that fort option.
I'd love to see how you utilize your own DIY garment rack if you happen to use this tutorial. Thanks for linking back to this DIY if you repost.
-Rachel
I'm Rachel Denbow, an author, e-course writer, maker, craft stylist, and general DIY enthusiast. 
