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How-to: Card Catalog End Table

June 10, 2013 10 Comments

How-to: Card Catalog End Table at HandsOccupied.com

I love collecting vintage household items. They’re a really fun way to add surprising and unique flourishes to home decor. Several months back, I acquired a small set of card catalog drawers. They’re something I want to keep in good condition, so I hemmed and hawed for a long time before finally selecting and adding the hairpin table legs. With the help of my dad (a seasoned home DIY’er and son of a woodworker) on a recent visit, we attached the table legs in no time. Read on for the best tips for modifying your own potentially fragile vintage items.

Supplies

a small set of vintage card catalog drawers
marker
ruler
4 hairpin style table legs
enough wood screws to attach your legs (make sure they’re all the same size and type)
drill & drill bits
wood glue (optional)

Directions

The first step is deciding how tall you want the table to be, and measure the height of your set of drawers. Subtract the height of your drawers from how tall you want your table to be to determine how tall your table legs should be*. I found the best prices and selection of the hairpin style legs I used here.

*total desired table height – height of card catalog = leg height

Begin constructing your table by removing all drawers from the card catalog, deciding on the placement of the legs, and marking the location. You can measure for precision or simply eyeball the best location, it’s up to you. My dad’s big tips for adding legs to card catalogs:

  • Determine as best you can how thick the wood is that you’re drilling the screws into. 
  • Don’t use screws that are too long (this is where knowing how thick the wood is comes in).
  • Don’t try to drill your screws in too close to the edge of the card catalog. If you accidentally screw them in at a slight angle, your screw could come out the outside of your card catalog, ruining its look.
  • Also avoid drilling a screw directly into where two pieces of wood come together. You could end up accidentally damaging your card catalog by wedging it apart. We ended up placing my table legs slightly in from the front and back edges but flush with the sides, as you can see somewhat below.

How-to: Card Catalog End Table at HandsOccupied.com

Set the legs aside. Using a drill bit that’s smaller than the wood screws you’ll attach the legs with, drill pilot holes for each screw you’ll be using to attach the legs. This helps avoid slippage when you’re putting in a screw, and it helps avoid damaging the wood.

How-to: Card Catalog End Table at HandsOccupied.com

Place a leg over the pilot holes. (The hairpin legs are nice because you can see what you’re doing the whole time.) You can use a drill or handheld screwdriver to screw the legs to the card catalog. My dad preferred switching between the drill for the pilot holes and the handheld screwdriver since he opted not to drill all 12 pilot holes at once. He worked one leg at a time, so having to switch back and forth from a drill bit for the pilot holes to a screwdriver head for attaching the legs would have been impractical.

How-to: Card Catalog End Table at HandsOccupied.com

PS: If you find your legs getting loose down the road, carefully unscrew them a little bit, put a small dot of wood glue under the head of the screw, and screw it back in.

How-to: Card Catalog End Table at HandsOccupied.com

This tutorial was for a fairly straightforward project that many could figure out on their own. I hope sharing some tips from someone who knows their stuff, even on an easy project, is useful for you! 

Filed Under: Home Decor, How-to, Vintage Crafts Tagged With: card catalog, diy, end table, hairpin legs, home decor, midcentury, vintage

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad (she/her) is a craft book author & designer specializing in yarn crafts. Her work combines vintage and modern design elements, prioritizing color and graphic motifs. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

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Comments

  1. Rachel | 52 Weeks Project

    June 10, 2013 at 2:45 pm

    I love this Heidi, thanks for sharing!!

    Reply
  2. Bulb to Blossom

    June 11, 2013 at 12:55 pm

    This is such a great idea! I love it!

    Reply
  3. marissa | Rae Gun Ramblings

    June 11, 2013 at 7:22 pm

    I seriously love this so so much! You don’t even know. Pinning and hoping to find some card catalog drawers

    Reply
  4. Kristina

    June 14, 2013 at 9:08 am

    This is the second time I’ve come back to this in two days because it’s so cool. Yesterday I wasted about 20 minutes googling inexpensive table legs. (Did you know there aren’t any?) So now I’m into making tables all of a sudden thanks to you. So thanks! To you!

    Reply
    • Heidi

      June 16, 2013 at 9:41 am

      Thanks! Yeah, table legs are crazy expensive. Did you see the link in the post to where I got the hairpin legs I used for this table? They weren’t the cheapest ever, but I spent forever googling to find that source. Book. Marked. ;)

      Reply
  5. Carol

    June 14, 2013 at 6:00 pm

    Great job with the presentation.

    Reply
  6. Laura Beth / Perched on a Whim

    June 19, 2013 at 10:47 am

    How charming! As a book lover, this is just too much. You’ve given me something to hunt for this summer: card catalog drawers.

    Reply
  7. Evan

    January 30, 2015 at 1:44 pm

    What type and length of screw did you use? I’ll be doing the exact same thing soon, but can’t figure out what screws will be short and strong enough.

    Reply
    • Heidi

      February 1, 2015 at 8:31 pm

      The wood of the card catalog I used is pretty thick, so we were able to use fairly long ones. I have no idea what type in particular they were, though. I’m sorry!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Decorator in a Box says:
    June 18, 2013 at 8:51 am

    […] size catalogs available and not many larger options to hold their own.  Heidi from the blog Hands Occupied has solved this dilemma by simply adding some retro metal legs on the bottom to create a […]

    Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), and I’ve been helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010. I got my start here, as a blogger, and since then I’ve shared more than a few tutorials here and on YouTube as I’ve grown as a pattern designer. 🧶 

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Heidi Gustad 🧶 knitting & yarn crafts

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POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern fits with no ease vs. 4” of positive ease. There’s a bit more length to the cotton (brighter color) sample, but both are cropped and feature shoulder seams designed to sit an inch back onto the shoulder instead of on top, giving it a little swing. Length is easily adjustable for folks looking for less of a crop. 
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Pattern: Bevelled Tank by @handsoccupied for @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn summer 2024. Available for free from Hobbii at the 🔗 in my profile.
Yarn pictured: @kelbournewoolens Skipper and Camper. 
Dress form is adjusted to a 36” chest and ~5’3”ish in height. 
Human has a 40” chest and is 5’5”.
Both skirts are vintage.
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #handsoccupied #intarsia #handmade #knitting #colorwork
Let’s talk about fit and ease! . During the Beve Let’s talk about fit and ease!
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During the Bevelled Tank design process for @pompommag, I knit 2 samples using 2 different @KelbourneWoolens yarns. One was in Skipper (100% cotton, second photo) and the other was in Camper (100% 2 ply wool). The Skipper sample was knit for a 36” bust, which measures in at 40” with 4” of positive ease. And I knit the Camper Sample for my 40” bust with a 44” finished measurement. (BTW, I’m 5’5” for folks that find that measurement helpful in visualizing fit.)
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Based on the size chart for the Bevelled Tank, that means I knit one size 3 sample and one size 4. As designed, I conveniently fit a size 4 as intended with 4” of positive ease. When I wear the 3, there is no ease at all because the garment and my body are both 40” in size. Comparing the 2 garments, you can see how the fiber content (cotton vs. wool) and fit (no ease vs. 4” of positive ease) makes a difference in the look and feel of the finished garment. 
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These samples are a great way to compare what ease looks like on different bodies. While I can fit both a size 3 and 4, the garment with no ease feels more like pajamas or a bralette when I wear it. On the other hand, when I wear the one with 4” of positive ease, I feel comfortable enough to wear it to work, even as a crop top. Plus, it leaves me with enough room to layer it with a nice button down if I’m not feeling the cropped look one day. 
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After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m ba After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m back with a brand new pattern in 9 sizes, and it’s FREE as part of @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn’s summer design collection! (Link is in my bio.)
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In my December newsletter, I announced that I was soliciting test knitters for a pattern that had originally been selected for the summer ’24 issue of Pom Pom Quarterly magazine. However, the magazine ceased publication after its spring ’24 issue, leaving in-progress designs unpublished. (It happens.) As a result, I’d begun the long process of editing, testing, and photographing the pattern for independent release through the Hands Occupied pattern shop and Ravelry.
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Before I was done with that process, Pom Pom Quarterly’s former editors reached out with an exciting proposal for the pattern. Post-magazine, they’ve begun to partner with yarn companies to produce high quality pattern collections. They wanted to include designs from the would-be current issue of Pom Pom Quarterly in a new collection for Hobbii yarn, including my Bevelled Tank. I worked with the same technical editors I would have for the magazine on this one, and as you can see from the photos, Pom Pom’s team did an amazing job of styling the garment to the beautiful standards they’re known for.
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You can learn more about the pattern on my blog and get the free pattern from Hobbii yarn - links to both in my profile. I’ll post sizing info in the comments for quick reference too. 🧶
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Photos: @dianascarrunz 
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Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vi Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vintage knitting pattern from 1938 called the Fernlace Pullover. A pattern so nice, I knit it twice.
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Yellow version 💛: knit with Despondent Dyes’ Vintage Vixen Sport after attending a @squidneyknits vintage knitting retreat in 2019 & learning *so much*. Paired with a self-drafted circle skirt pattern. 
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Blue version 💙: knit with @eweeweyarns Ewe So Sporty in Sky Blue. Paired with the 1940s Boardwalk Duet sewing pattern from @decades_of_style 
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Head to my stories for 🔗🔗 to the handmade wardrobe blog posts I wrote about each take on the Fernlace Pullover, working with a vintage pattern, where to find vintage patterns (including the one I used), & some thoughts on sizing. 
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Frogging is a word in the knitting world that mean Frogging is a word in the knitting world that means to rip out your knitting. It’s called frogging because frogs say “ribbit,” and when you’re tearing out your knitting, you will “rip it” out, and that sounds like ribbit. No really. 🐸 Did you know this fun fact? 
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P.S. I did like this design concept, but to make the pattern more knitter friendly as well as more wearable, I am making some tweaks to the construction. Excited to share when it’s ready! 🥰🧶
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Yarn: @blueskyfibers Woolstok North in Morning Frost & Highland Fleece 
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