Inspired by a book spine chandelier mobile at an Anthropologie store and some comments from readers to make a mobile out of fabric instead of books, I decided to tackle the project and make a mobile for Lula's room. Here's the inspiration from Anthropologie:
...and here's the DIY for the one I made:
Materials:
3-5 metal rings or embroidery hoops of different sizes
yarn or thin wire for attaching rings together
craft glue
strips of a variety of fabric ranging from 9-11" X 1-5"
1. Buy 3-5 metal rings depending on how big you want your mobile to be. I bought four metal rings from Hobby Lobby: 12", 10", 8", and 6" in diameter
2. Attach the rings together in descending order from biggest to smallest. I attached the rings in three different places with pieces of yarn with about 3 1/2" separating each ring. So the yarn pieces were about 10" long to allow for easy knotting on either side. (I made them too short at first and had to adjust.) This was the trickiest part and next time I will use wire instead of yarn. Again, you can decide how far apart you want the rings to be which will affect how long your fabric strips are.
3. Adjust the rings so they hang as evenly as possible. Then glue the yarn at the knots to secure the mobile. (If you're using wire, just wrap the ends tightly around each ring.)
4. Decide which fabrics you want to use for your mobile. I chose nine different fabrics, all but one were vintage, but this is a matter of taste...I like "lovely chaos!"
5. Then cut strips from those fabrics in various sizes making sure they are long enough to fold in half and still overlap the ring below. For example, my rings are about 3 1/2" apart. So folded in half the strips needed to be at least 4" long. I used minimal measurements here so the strips were not perfect which is what I was going for. But they ranged from 9-11" long X 1-5" wide.
I cut about 8-10 strips from each fabric...so you'll need around 70-90 strips total if you use the same amount and size rings I did.
6. Place a bead of glue along the middle of the short side of a fabric strip and hang over ring. (I started with hot glue, but craft or tacky glue is more forgiving and easier to work with.) With this mobile, I started layering all over the mobile, but next time I will start on the bottom ring, finish it first, and work my way up.
7. Continue layering fabric until the rings are completely covered up.
Ta Da! All finished! I'm thinking about turning this into a lamp since the middle is completely open. I think it would be so pretty! We'll see. This was actually fairly easy to make. I hope you love it and will share if you make one too.
I've always wanted to do this for a nursery mobile or a ceiling light fixture using beads. Thanks!
Posted by: Grace | February 28, 2011 at 10:33 AM
I love it! And I LOVE the idea of turning it into a lamp!
Posted by: xgravity23 | February 28, 2011 at 11:07 AM
you are a genius. this is really beautiful, great job!
Posted by: janae | February 28, 2011 at 02:08 PM
This is AMAZING!!! It looks so good, but so simple to make! I can't wait to try it out!
Posted by: Tiny Dancer Clothing | February 28, 2011 at 11:18 PM
i think i'm going to have to steal this idea! i feel like i could write a book on the number of "ideas" i've stolen from you.
Posted by: Evie | March 05, 2011 at 02:37 PM
aww how cute! love the fabric choices..
Posted by: vanessa | April 22, 2011 at 11:38 PM
so cute we're going to make a christmas card holder using this idea love it.
Posted by: colleen | December 13, 2011 at 05:06 PM
Thats a great idea, Colleen! I love the mobiles with various kinds of paper attached to them.
Posted by: Sarah Jane | December 13, 2011 at 05:37 PM
I love the cloth mobile! You did a wonderful job.
Posted by: Wire To Wear | April 25, 2012 at 08:12 PM