Crocheted or knitted hanger covers are so quick and easy to make and are perfect for making your plastic tubular hangers slip-resistant. These are quick projects that can be great for busting down your yarn stash because they only require small amounts of yarn, and they produce a useful finished object. I mean, who doesn't need a collection of yarn-covered hangers in their closet to keep their nice blouses (etc.) from falling onto the floor? 😊
The crocheted Hanger Cover free pattern by Frugal Knitting Haus is a great, basic option for dressing up your everyday hangers. These look equally great whether worked in solid colors or variegated yarns.
The strip you crochet is six stitches wide (about 2 inches) by about 36 inches long. When you finish off, cut a long tail (about 2.25 times the length of the finished work) and use the tail to sew the cover to the hanger with a wide whip stitch (about 3-4 stitches per inch). No need to be fussy about it because the sewing stitches will blend into and be disguised by the cover. Knot the tails together and hide them inside the work for an easy finish.
Another easy way to make hanger covers is by using a 22-needle knitting machine, such as the Addi Pro.
You can make a matching set of multiple hangers all from one skein of yarn, or you can do like I did above and just grab whatever pieces of yarn you have available for a unique, scrappy hanger.
Using a 22-needle machine, cast on with a few rows of waste yarn. Change to your working yarn and knit 160 to 170 rows to fit most tubular plastic hangers. Leave about a 2-yard tail before cutting the working yarn and drop it into the center. Change to waste yarn and work a few more rows then cast off from the machine. Gently stretch the knitted piece.
Using a 5mm crochet hook, close the end of the tube with the short tail and remove the waste yarn, pulling the short tail through the last loop to secure it. (Don't hide this tail inside yet.) Then close the end of the tube with the long tail, pulling the long tail through the last loop to secure it.
Thread the long yarn tail onto a large needle. Hold the knitted strip so the end wraps around the hanger and whip-stitch the long edges of the knitted piece together. Stretch the knitting until the ends of each side meet just below the hook of the hanger and whip-stitch or mattress-stitch the ends together for a neat appearance. Knot the tails together to secure and then hide the tails inside the knitting for an easy finish. Now your covered hanger is finished and ready to use.
The striped machine-knit hanger cover in the photo above was made with 160 rows, which was just long enough to fit snugly on the hanger. It might have been better if I'd made it 170 rows, which is what I did in the machine-knit hanger cover in the photo below.
