Hi, I'm Amy and welcome to Her Tool Belt.
A blanket ladder is a super functional project that we use almost daily.
It's a decorative yet functional way to hang your blanket.
Plus it's a great homemade gift for all your blanket loving family and friends.
You can build a blanket ladder for as low as $5.
You'll need three 1x3s and about 24 screws.
These run $1.58 at my local Home Depot.
I've already sanded them smooth and so they're ready to go.
If you want a chunkier look to your ladder,
you can definitely substitute 1x3s for 2x3s
and you'll have the thicker look and everything will work out just fine.
I'm going to cut the 1x3s into two pieces that are 72 inches long
and six pieces that are 17 inches long.
In this video I'm using a circular saw and a straight edge
but you could use whatever saw you're comfortable with
like a miter saw, a jigsaw, a hand saw,
or if you're my dad you would use your Leatherman.
Okay so now we've cut up the boards into two 1x3s and these are the ladder rails
and we have six ladder rungs that are 1x3s that are 17 inches long.
Now there's an optional step that you can do with your ladder.
You can either leave the end square on your ladder rails
although I would take your sander and round off your edges
so you don't have a sharp edge against your wall.
But I'm going to go ahead and create angles on the bottom and the top of my ladder rails
and then I'm going to use some of those felt stickers to help protect my wall.
The blanket ladder that I made like five years ago we've been using a ton
except my wall paint is so thin that if anything touches it it pulls it off
and so where we keep the blanket ladder it's just all these polka dots of missing paint.
So anyway I've learned my lesson.
On the bottom of my ladder rail I'm going to cut a 10 degree miter
and then on the top I'm going to measure over
three quarters of an inch from the back side of the ladder
and down four and a quarter and mark a line and I'm going to cut along that
and that will be my 80 degree cut for the top of the ladder.
But first I'm going to mark out where my rungs go so I have a straight end to measure from.
To attach the ladder rungs to the ladder rail
I'm going to drill pocket holes in the back side of the rung on both sides
and I will attach them to the ladder rail.
If you don't have a pocket hole jig you can drill screws in or nail it if you'd like
from the outside of the ladder rail into the ladder rung.
Okay so I have my Kreg pocket hole jig set for three quarter
three quarters of an inch thick material and I will drill two pocket holes
in each side.
Okay now time for the top rail.
I'm using this aged wood accelerator it's the brown color
and it's kind of a nice sweathered look and it's super easy to apply.
I just use a paintbrush to apply it and then let it do its thing.
Once the ladder is all dry then I'm adding the felt pads
and the final touch is to add your favorite blankets.
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Happy building!
