quilting

DIY Thread Holder

BigJ recently made me a thread holder for my quilt room.

DIY Thread Holder - Wall view - piecefulthoughts.com DIY Thread Holder - side view - piecefulthoughts.com

I thought it might be fun to show you how he made it. He took pictures of his process while he worked on it.

Once I described to him what I was looking for, we determined the dimensions of the holder based on the wall space where it would hang and the size of the largest spool of thread I had. We determined that the size should be 20 inches x 30 inches and would hold 150 spools. With a little math, this project can easily be adjusted to any size.

The supplies needed:

  • 3 – 8 inch pine boards, 3/4 inch thick, cut to length.
  • 7 – 3/16th inch dowels for the thread pegs
  • Kreg jig bit with a 3/16 inch tip
  • 6 – #10 biscuits
  • Approx. 9 ft of 1-1/2 inch oak
  • Drill, router, table saw and wood glue
  • Paint (we used spray paint)

DIY Thread Holder - Supplies Needed - piecefulthoughts.com

Step 1

Cut the pine boards to length. In our case, the boards were cut slightly longer than 30 inches to accommodate the 1-1/4 inch oak frame.

Determine the placement of the pegs. In our case, we took the width of my largest spools and worked from that, spacing the pegs 2 inches apart. This gave us 15 rows of 10 across, for a total of 150 pegs.

Step 2

Glue the pine boards together, using the #10 biscuits to make them solid. Once dry, use the table saw to cut it to the correct width, again leaving it a little wider to accommodate the oak frame.

DIY Thread Holder - glue the pine boards Photo 1 - piecefulthoughts.com

DIY Thread Holder - glue the pine boards - piecefulthoughts.com

Step 3

Using a router and the 1-1/4 inch oak, build a frame to go around the pine.The frame helps keep the pine level and creates more stability. Stain and varnish the frame (or you can wait and paint it to match the rest of the holder). Wait to attach it to the holder until the last step.

DIY Thread Holder - making the oak frame - piecefulthoughts.com

Step 4

In this step, BigJ created a jig holder using a 2 x 2 and clamps. This allowed him to uniformly space the dowels at 2 inch intervals. The Kreg jig ensured that each of the holes were at an exact 20° angle. Note that on my holder, the end pegs of each row are only 1 inch from the oak frame when it is attached.

DIY Thread Holder - create a jig holder to uniformly space the pegs - piecefulthoughts.com

Step 5

To allow the holder to hang flat and sturdy against the wall, use a router bit to cut slots in the top ends of the frame so that it can hang on two screws mounted in the drywall.

DIY Thread Holder - use a router to add mounting holes - piecefulthoughts.com

Step 6

This is the most time consuming part of the project. Gently sand the ends of each peg to smooth the edges, creating a nice finish for the thread to slide over and to make it easier to insert them into the holes.

DIY Thread Holder - sanding and gluing the pegs in place - piecefulthoughts.com

Using a 2 x 2, cut it at a 20° angle and draw guide lines on it for tapping in the pegs. Use a small nail dipped in wood glue as a makeshift dropper for getting the glue in the peg holes.

Step 7

Using a can of spray paint, apply about 5 thin coats. Spray from all four sides at about a 45° angle to be sure all surfaces are covered.  NOTE: If you plan to paint the oak frame, attach it before you begin to paint. If not, let the paint dry and then attach the frame.

DIY Thread Holder - 5 thin layers of paint - piecefulthoughts.com

Hang your thread holder, put your thread on the pegs, and stand back and admire your work!

Let me know if you have any questions, and I’ll do my best to get an answer for you. I’d enjoy seeing pictures if you make one for yourself!

Wendy

 

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