Personalized Coat Hanger - Made at TechShop

My daughter showed me an example of this sort of hanger and asked me to make them for her bride's maids. It costs almost nothing, takes basic tools, an it's easier than you might think. 

It was a perfect project to make at TechShop.

TOOLS AND MATERIEALS:
+ Wooden coat hanger
+ 12 gage galvanized wire (5/64")
+ Pliers
+ Paper / marker (or printer)
+ drill and bit (slightly larger than the wire [7/64"])
+ ruler and pencil
+ A file polish the ends of the wire
+ A name or word

Start by straightening at lease 5 feet of wire, and cutting if free from the coil. That seems like a lot of wire, but trust me... you'd rather have too much than run short at the end.

Then make your first bend about 8" from the end of the wire following your template. Using your plyers and hands keep following the template as much as possible. I never get it perfect; just keep an eye on the size of the letters and the baseline.

HINT: it's much easier to spin the paper around than to chase the wire.

You have to drill the holes symetrically from the center; so measure from base of the hanger hook the same distance on each side, and make a mark. I also put a pencil line across the hanger to make it easier to drill.

Use a bit that's slightly larger than the wrire so the wire will slip though easily.

HINT: Drill from the top down because you care about the centering and finish of the hole on the top more than on the bottom.  

Start by centering the wire below the hanger and carefully select how far below the hanger your name is. You want enough distance that the wire can move up about 1/2 inch to allow the strap hooks to lift up.

Line up the right side and bend it up 90* and put the end through the hole.

On the left side, put a scrap piece of strait wire though the hole to show you were to bend.

Bend the left side up and put both ends through the holes in the hanger and level it up again.

The final step is to bend the ends of the wire over to make the strap hanger and hold the wire in position.

With the name leveled at the right height, cut the wire off 1-1/4" above the hanger.
NOTE: This is a good time to use the file to polish the ends of the wire. Generally sharp jagged edges don't mix with fancy dresses.

Bend the wire over into an upsidedown U.  

Drill a larger hole 1/8 of an inch deep to receive the end of the wire.

Viola! You have happy wedding party.