Take It With You Gown Hanger

Even as a retired pastor I sometimes need to take my gown and a stole to participate in an installation of a pastor or a pastor's funeral, but there are no high hooks at that church for hanging a long gown. This hanger makes any door a good place to hang a gown, and you can bring it with you.

Materials

1. 1/8 x 1/2 inch steel flat bar

Tools

1. A vise
2. A hammer
3. A hacksaw
4. A grinder or file
5. A rule
6. Square
7. Marking pen
8. 12 inch adjustable wrench

You will need between 8 and 9 inches of 1/8 x 1/2 steel flat bar. The exact length is dependent on the radius of the loop to hold the wire or plastic clothes hanger for the gown and the anticipated thickness of the door. I cut 9 inches of bar, and that was just a little more than needed. The piece of pipe I used for forming the loop that holds the hanger was 2 inches in diameter. I made my door hanger so it can accommodate a door up to almost 2 inches thick.

A loop formed around a pipe less than 2 inches in diameter would be very adequate, but everyone participating in these functions is looking for a place to hang a gown. The first time I used this door hanger I turned myself around and suddenly there were eight to ten gowns hanging on my door hanger. For that reason, 2 inches is a good diameter for forming the loop.

Most doors in a room where the pastors participating in a special event put on their gowns are probably an inch and a half or just a little more, but it is wise to be prepared for the unexpected thicker door you might find in an older church building. My door hanger works just fine on a thinner door, too.

Cut the steel bar to the length you choose. You can always trim some extra later if your piece is determined clearly to be too long.

The photo shows smoothed and rounded edges. Flat bar with gray mill scale usually has rounded edges. Often I cannot find it, but must settle for flat bar that has been cut with a shear. That leaves crisp corners that can scratch human skin and snag the fine fibers on a gown. Round and smooth edges with a fine grinding wheel or a file. Also round the edges on the ends as shown.

I used a marker pen to mark points at which the bar will be bent to form the hanger. This is only approximate. From left to right the divisions mark off the tail, the crossover, the down section, and the loop. The tail will be the last part to be formed. Tentatively, it is up to 1 3/4 inches long. The crossover is 2 inches. The down section is 1 7/8 inches. And, the loop is 3 3/8 inches. Some allowance has to be made for steel to form the corner at each bend.

The first bend is the loop. The first photo shows a short piece of pipe with a 2 inch diameter. The ideal would be to have three hands. I placed a block of wood on the vise's sliding jaw so it can support the pipe and keep it level as well as at the correct height compared to the jaws. The pipe rests on the wooden block. For this vise a block made from a common 2 x 4 worked well.

See the second photo. Insert the end of the flat bar between one of the jaws and the pipe. Use a square to make the flat bar perpendicular to the pipe. Tighten the vise's screw very tight. With one hand pull on the flat bar in the direction of the bend. Use a hammer at the same time to pound the flat bar so it bends to fit the contour of the pipe. Reset the flat bar around the pipe to achieve a bend that extends across half of the pipe's circumference. See the fourth photo. The bend in the flat bar covers half of the circumference of the pipe.

The second bend will be between the downward section and the crossover. I used a heavy steel pin for better access with the hammer. I wanted to keep the downward section straight. Once the bend has a good start, you can reposition the flat bar in the vise. I used the jaws as a guide to get a fairly precise 90 degree bend and to make the bend as crisp as possible. Bending was a little easier where I could pull on the steel in the direction of the bend while pounding with the hammer.

The side door to my workshop is 1 3/4 inches thick. I held my door hanger against the door and checked the felt tip mark. The mark seemed to be in a good location so I could allow for an unusually thick door.

The view is from the top of the vise. I am making the bend between the crossover and the tail. Again the vise jaws help to get a crisp 90 degree corner.

I got a slight twist in one of my bends and needed to correct for it. I used a 12 inch adjustable wrench to remove the twist while the flat bar was in the vise. Analyze where any twists are and decide how to place the door hanger in the vise, as well as where to apply pressure with the wrench to make a correction.

The first photo shows my gowns in their gown bag hanging on a door only about 1 1/2 inches thick. The second photo shows a closer view of the door hanger bent from flat bar. It would be easy to make a door hanger with a tighter fit if you knew the exact thickness of every door where you will need this hanger.

I store my door hanger in the bottom of my gown bag so it is always ready when I might need it.