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Hands Occupied

Colorful knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame from craft book author & designer Heidi Gustad.

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How-to: Hang a Giant Map

October 22, 2012 2 Comments

My husband has had this awesome map of The Essential Geography of the United States of America for several months now. It’s a map that Slate called “The Greatest Paper Map of the United States You’ll Ever See“, which immediately appealed to my husband’s appreciation for cartographically sound maps. That’s my guy!

The problem with amazing giant maps is how hard it is to hang them without dropping a huge stack of cash on custom framing. When my husband convinced me that maps should be an essential decorating element in our living room, I put my crafty skills to work.

How-to: Hang a Giant Map | HandsOccupied.com

Supplies

12 binder clips

2, 1/2″ thick x 48″ long dowels (My map was about as wide as my dowels were long, approximately 50 inches. If your poster is bigger, you might want to spend some time finding a dowel that’s the right size for your needs.)

12 eye screws

hacksaw

string that doesn’t stretch too much

a freaking giant map or poster

Directions

Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you. Hold your hacksaw, teeth side up, between your legs. Carefully saw a line through the center of each end of one dowel by moving it back and forth over the teeth. This method sounds a little crazy, but it’s a lot safer than using the saw normally. I almost messed up my thumb really bad, believe me!

Knot your string at each end and secure it to each end of the dowel as shown. I used fishing line in my finished project, but opted for bright yarn for demonstration’s sake in the photos.

How-to: Hang a Giant Map | HandsOccupied.com

Screw half of your eye screws into one dowel, evenly spaced apart. Screw the rest of your screws in a similar fashion to the other dowel.

How-to: Hang a Giant Map | HandsOccupied.com

Pop a wing off of a binder clip and hook it into an eye screw. Reattach it to the binder clip.

How-to: Hang a Giant Map | HandsOccupied.com

How-to: Hang a Giant Map | HandsOccupied.com

Attach the rest of your binder clips to all of the eye screws. When all of the clips are attached, twist the eye screws so that the binder clips all hang facing the same direction.

How-to: Hang a Giant Map | HandsOccupied.com

Clip your map to all of the binder clips and use the string to hang it up. Simple! I really like how bookish the map looks hung with school supplies. The dowels harken back to the rolled maps we used to have in my elementary school, which as a Librarian, I love.

How-to: Hang a Giant Map | HandsOccupied.com

You can visit the cartographer’s website to learn more about him or to purchase the map featured in today’s project. 

Filed Under: How-to Tagged With: binder clip, dowel, giant map, home decor, maps

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. andrew

    November 4, 2013 at 6:13 am

    Great tip guys. it’s just what I need. a simple and practical way to hang a freaking big map. thanks for being so crafty.
    A

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Home Decor Question for You! says:
    June 8, 2013 at 9:43 am

    […] some time (and as little money as possible) in improving our living room. So far, we’ve hung the map featured in yesterday’s post, I’ve worked some crafty magic*, and we bought some vintage […]

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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

handsoccupied

Knitting & yarn crafts designer 🧶
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Stay up-to-date 💌 & shop new patterns ⤵️

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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I’m curious - how would you style this tank? Would you modify it with a few stockinette rows for added length? I’m so curious now that this pattern is finally out in the world. :) 
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #bevelledtank #handsoccupied #knitting #intarisa #handmade #kelbournewoolens #croppedsweater #summerknits
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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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #knitting #intarsia #sponsored #colorworkknitting 
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Photos: @dianascarrunz 
Model: @angel.jade_
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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Image descriptions available in alt text. 
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#handsoccupied #handmadewardrobe #fernlacepullover #vintageknitting #vintageknittingpatterns #knitting_inspiration
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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#handsoccupied #knitting #frogging #blueskyfibers #knittersofinstagram #blueskymakers #knittingvocabulary #bsfmakers #knitdesign
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