No Drill/Sew/Glue Basically Free Hanging Shelf

Please note! This project does not include attaching a bar to your wall/ceiling to hang the shelf from.

As you can see, in my case I hung it from the bar used to open a Velux window.

I live in a house-share with no South-facing windows so built this so my tomato & lettuce seedlings could hang from the window and get light all day long :)

It uses entirely recycled/thrifted supplies.

You will need:

1. A cardboard or wooden crate (check out this list of where to get free ones and pay attention to the safety info https://moneypantry.com/wooden-crates-for-free/ )
2. I got 2 cardboard veg crates free from Lidl after failing to find wooden ones. In the end though, it's a good thing I got cardboard, as wood would've (wood've?) been too heavy for my window bar, pulling the window open all the time!
3. An old duvet/comforter cover or other large piece of fabric. This is what you make the rope out of, so the fabric should have not too much stretch - we don't want to make a bungee cord.
4. I had one lying around, originally bought from a charity shop (thrift store) for £2 (about $3). So this whole project cost £2!
5. Scissors for cutting fabric
6. A hairband/elastic band/safety pin/clip/something else to tie fabric together
7. Optional: a plastic bag large enough to cover inside of the crate
8. Optional: a knife for cutting cardboard (or use the scissors, but a knife is easier) or a drill, if using a wooden crate with no holes in the corners.
9. So not entirely drill free in all cases, sorry! Luckily many wooden crates already have holes in e.g. between the planks.

Cut 6 strips right across the duvet cover.

I cut these to ~3 inches wide. It's not an exact science and you can be messy with the cutting, but basically thicker fabric strips = stronger rope.

I also cut through the whole cover, front and back, so each strip had 2 'layers', also adding strength.

Cutting widthways rather than lengthways across the duvet cover made more than enough rope for this project but if you want the shelf to hang further, you could cut lengthways.

Apologies, I forgot to photograph this! But the next step is to plait three of your fabric strips together, so first join them at one end - e.g. by tying them together with a hairband or elastic band, or using a safety pin or strong clip (such as one used to seal a food bag).

This is much easier with a bit of tension in the fabric, so I recommend tying the end you just joined with a hairband/pin/etc. to something - in this case I used a bedframe.

Then starting at the tied end, plait the fabric (there are lots of tutorials online about how to do a basic plait so I haven't covered it here).

Working with looonng fabric means it has a tendency to get tangled at the untied end so keep an eye on that to prevent a headache later!

Also please note this step makes a mess if the fabric is fraying, and a hoover or lint roller might be required afterwards.

Yep :)

Add diagonal slits to the base of the box, in each of the four corners as shown. Some crates have these already.

I cut them about 1cm / 0.25" across. It needs to be wide enough to thread the rope through that you just plaited, but narrow enough that the rope can't pull through when knotted.

If the crate is wooden and doesn't have a hole near each corner, you may have to use a drill to make some.

Remove the plait from the bedframe etc. and thread it through one of the diagonal holes in the box, from top to bottom (inside to outside).

The next step is to knot it - first I tied each of the three fabric strips to each other to 'seal' the plait and stop it coming undone, then just tied a knot in the rope.

Gently tug on the rope to ensure the knot can't pass through the hole - if it can, knot the rope again until it's too large to pass through.

Pass the rope over the bar/hook you want to suspend the hanging shelf from.

Then thread the rope through the other diagonal hole on the same side (same side widthways not lengthways - though potentially either could work?), and adjust the length of the rope until you're happy with the height.

Once happy with the height, knot the rope again to prevent it going through the hole in the box.

Your box is now hanging precariously but not to worry! It's time to add the other rope.

Thread rope through one of the empty holes and knot. Loop rope over bar, and thread through the last hole.

Faff around until happy with the height and everything looks even. Tie the last knot.

If you're using cardboard, and storing plants (or anything else that might leak water) in it, lining with a plastic bag protects the cardboard.

Yay, you did it!

What went well:

I'm pretty happy with the final result as the seedlings can get lots of light (and a breeze when the window is open). The boxes can lowered/raised by opening/closing the window, so easy to reach for watering.*

I think the rope turned out nicely, as the duvet covet had different colours front and back which gave a two tone effect.

Downsides:

Not sure how much weight these things can hold - they seem sturdy and have held a substantial amount of soil for the last 24 hours without crashing down, but fingers crossed the cardboard holes don't tear. Maybe the holes could be made wider and reinforced with duct tape?

They make it inconvenient to close the window (heavy and block the way). If they hold too much weight, it's impossible to close the window as they pull the bar down - this is why I built 2, to distribute the weight. They also block the light a bit.*

They're not... the most aesthetic things in the world. I quite like the rustic vibe, but the cardboard is a bit boring. You may wish to decorate your box before hanging it up.

*Not applicable if not hanging from a velux window