How To Organize TONS of Ribbon

The problem:  TOO MUCH RIBBON!  

I love ribbon!  I have spent a small fortune trying to keep it all corralled, but, I have out grown all the boxes... and all other solutions I have seen out on the web so I had to invent my own solution.... a hanging "Ribbon Rack"!  Mine is currently holding 336 spools of ribbon, with room for many more (when I find all the hiding places!)  One of the rods has 52 on it so the rack could hold over 500 spools depending on spool sizes.


My Solution: 

What you will need: 

- A Clothes rack...I got this one for $15 at IKEA:  

(Better yet, if you have a closet with an empty rod, you wouldn't need this!  And you could hide it!... I don't have and empty closet ANYWHERE in my house, especially not in the room I want my ribbons... And too, mine is portable because it is on wheels.)

- About 12' of Chain cut in half from hardware store (let them cut it): 

-A Connector (next to the chain at hardware store) - but zip ties would work just as well so save your $

 - Threaded Rods (9) - They sell two kinds...one is in inches, the other has metric measurements.   I had to get metric measures because they are closer to the 4' lengths I needed.  The ones that are by inches are too long and would need to be cut (NOT!)
OH! and try to ignore the wood dowels in the pictures, this is a work in progress and I tried them first to keep it cheap.  BAD IDEA!  Don't do that! 

 - Wing Nut Bolts (2 for each rod)  Remember to get METRIC if that's the kind of rod you get!













How To Assemble:
- Assemble clothes rack according to their instructions
- Loop the end of one of the chains around the top bar, to the inside of the up/down bar so it won't slide off the end...use the connector or a zip tie to connect
- Repeat on the other side

- Put wing nut onto rod
- Load ribbon
- Add the other wing nut to the other end
- Thread a zip tie through one of the links then around the loaded rod BETWEEN the wing nut and ribbon....tighten it (NOT TOO TIGHT) smaller than the nut but large enough around the rod so it will slip out easily later if necessary. 
- Repeat on the other end

That's It!

But, if you look closely at the picture you will see that I hung a pair of scissors and a yardstick over to the right side, now I never have to remove a spool, or look for scissors!

And even closer: you will see that I used a retractable ID holder to attach the yardstick...it just happened to be on the table next to where I was working!  Now I can just pull it over to the ribbon and measure what I need.

Unfortunately, I can tell already that there is another ribbon rack in my future because I keep finding more ribbon around the house!  It is EVERYWHERE!