This ‘art’ is $450 at Anthropologie, but you can DIY it for $20

Here’s an Anthropologie hack that cost hundreds less than the original.

Have you ever paged through a catalog or been online shopping and come across something and wondered, “Umm… what the heck?” That was my reaction to a current wall hanging for sale at Anthropologie. I love the store, but hey, $450 is a little steep for a piece of tangled wool wrapped around some sticks. Here’s how to make it for under $20!

Supplies

• A piece of sturdy cardboard at least 10 x 20 inches (Repurposed from an old calendar — cost, free)
• 1 yard of wool roving (you could probably use batting or pillow stuffing) — you can buy it on Amazon for less than $10
• Raffia (I used dried ornamental grass from my yard — cost, free) 
• Black yarn — cost can range from $4 to $8 a skein
• White thick and bumpy yarn
• A 10-inch dowel rod — costs less than $3 at a hobby store
• Cotton twine — costs 50 cents for a small skein
• Scissors
• Music (this takes a while to weave, so grab some tunes)

The black and white yarns I used were repurposed from scarves I purchased from a thrift store. I paid $1 a piece for the scarves and unraveled them for the yarn. My total cost for materials was $16 plus tax.

Step 1

• First, we need to make a loom. Measure half-inch increments across the top and bottom of the 10-inch sides of the cardboard rectangle.
• Cut down about a half an inch on the markings. With several yards of twine, notch one end of the twine into one of the end slits.
• Pull the other end of the twine to the opposite slit in the cardboard.
• Continue to wind the loom, wrapping the twine around the cardboard until you reach the end. Cut another few yards and repeat. You will need to have two strings in each slit.

Step 2

• Cut 3 yards of the black yarn. Fold it in half. The yarn will be double thickness when you weave.
• Leave a 2-inch tail and begin to weave. The yarn needs to go under or over each string. When you get to the opposite end, weave back the other direction, being sure to weave in the opposite position of the row above (if the prior row is under the twine, then weave over the twine and vice versa).
• Weave 3 rows then tie off the yard at the end.

Step 3

• Add the raffia/grass layer. In the original, it looks like the raffia is 1 long piece. My dried grass was shorter, so I had to do two separate sections. In the end I trimmed the “bends” on the ends to make the hanging even. But you will need to do 4 rows of raffia.
• Next, add the white yarn. Double the yarn before you begin as well. The white yarn section should measure 2-1/2 inches. Weave loosely and pull out loops here and there for a tousled look.
• Tie off the ends when you are finished with this section.

Step 4 

• Next, add another layer of black yarn. This area is done in a “U” shape. I weaved a 4-row layer and tied it off. I followed with a 2-row layer, 2 vertical rows in and finished off with another 2-row layer 1 vertical row in.
• Now add the wool roving. You’ll need to be gentle with this stuff; it will come apart. I loosely wove 4 rows of this. Tuft the roving in various places and push the roving up on the sides to fill in any gaps in the loom.
• At the end of the 4th row, tuck the end of the roving into one of the back loops of the previous rows.

Step 5

• For this section, I used the tassels off the white scarf I unraveled. But, to make your own, you will need to cut 12-inch lengths of yarn. I laid 2 pieces of yarn together and folded it in half.
• To add the fringe, insert the loop end under 1 of the twine rows. Bring the loop end over the twine then grab the tails and pull it through. This makes a “lark’s head” knot. Slide the knot head up towards the base of the roving. Tie 2 layers of fringe on each vertical row.

Step 6

• To finish, insert your 10-inch dowel rod through the loops at the top of the loom. You can now cut the twine at the top of the loom and tie knots at the back of the woven piece to secure the dowel.
• At the bottom of the woven piece, cut the the loom and tie a knot as close as possible to the fringe. I tied a double knot at the base of each fringe and cut off the excess twine.
• Take an 8-inch length of twine and tie an end on each side of the dowel to hang.
• Trim off any excess yarn and grass off the sides.
• Ta-da! Hang up your garbage art and marvel at your designer hack that cost hundreds less.

Note: The finished size of my wall hanging was 9 x 18 inches. The Anthropologie piece is 9.5 by 20 inches. I tried to make is as close as possible, but I’m not a master weaver and I am not willing to fork out $450 for the original. I can live with it a couple of inches shorter.

More DIY wall art ideas

Wall accents way better than a boring picture frame
DIY chevron wall art
10 Clever ways to turn your collections into wall art