Vinyl Door Curtain

So I found around 100 old records in the dumpster at work and had no idea what to do with them all. I looked at some of the projects on this site, made a few, then came up with my own:)

Materials:

Wooden plank cut to size of door frame
Heavyweight picture hangers
Heavyweight hanging eyes
Heavyweight string or ribbon
About 40 old records (depending on door size and user error)
Superglue
Dremel, drill, or punch and hammer
An empty door frame that can support a curtain
Protective surface that can be drilled or hammered on

Pick the desired door frame you would like to place your curtain on. I chose the outside frame of my bedroom door since my door closes in the opposite direction of the placement of the curtain.

Once the desired placement of the curtain is set start to measure out the records. My particular door frame is 4 records across by 6 records down. Door frames do vary, so measure first!

Also clean the record if desired:P

Place all the records in a pattern you would like, move them around till you get the desired effect. I ended up using 4 records across by 6 records down. When at the desired effect you are ready for the hard part (that took the majority of the time).

For this part I highly recommend a drill or Dremmel tool, but unfortunately in my apartment we are ill equipped in the tool department. I ended up using a pattern punch and a hammer. If you are like me and must use the caveman technology and live on a second or third floor apartment, please be considerate of your neighbors downstairs and dont hammer(or use loud tools) at awkward hours.

To begin:
Place record on a protective thick surface, such as a thick piece of plastic or wood

For this step you need to be very careful! Records are very delicate and break really easily!!!
Id say I broke around 30 of them today during this step:P This is the most annoying and tedious part of the project. Be prepared to spend about 3 hours doing this.

For the first hole:
Start by making a very small prick into the record, about the 3rd groove from the edge in.
Very carefully start to make the hole untill its at the desired size to pass your cord through

If you crack a record, pull another out of your pile and start again, this time drill slower and more carefully.

For the second hole:

Repeat first hole process, same system, 3rd groove from edge. Try to make the two holes line up, but thats up to you, crooked records look pretty cool:)

Your holes should look somewhat like this, they can be made bigger or smaller due to your cord size.

Once the tedious part is done you can start to string your records together. I alternated colors between white satin ribbon and yellow embroidery thread, again its up to you to do what you want with your project!

Stringing:

Take cord and string through hole and tie, leaving about 3-6' of remaining cord. Cut off longer piece and repeat process with next record. When tying knot about 3-4 times for extra durability. Repeat process until done. If cord breaks, snip it off and try again.

By this point you should have 4 very long rows of dangling records. Check out the process and make sure you like the final result before you move on to the next step.

Measure your plank of wood to the top of your door. I had to trim mine, and since we are in the dark age of tools i had to use a serrated edge steak knife. If this applies to you as well, be careful not to get caught or else you will get in lots of trouble!! I wanted to paint my wood, but didnt have the time:(


When done place picture hangers into wall and measure hanging eyes (attached to wood) with hooks

This step is pretty self explanatory (and i got distracted and forgot to take a photo of this step:P). Take the bits of cord hanging from the tops of the chains and add them to the plank. Superglue the cord if it feels loose or unsecure.

Hang up your curtain and marvel at your hard work and a job well done!:)

Do be careful not to let your curtain get stuck in your door jam.


Hope you had fun :)