Magazine Holder

I remember back in the day when these leather sling-type magazine holders were in style. Nowadays I can't find anything comparable in quality at a good price, so I designed and made this solid wood one. The size of this is a little large for just magazines because I planned for it to hold more than that, but you can adjust the dimensions so that it resembles a traditional holder. The one above measures 21" x 12" x 10".

Materials

1. (1) 48 in. deck baluster (I chose redwood.)

2. (3) 48 in. long dowels 5/8" diameter

3. 120 grit sandpaper

4. Titebond or other wood glue

5. Polycrylic and paintbrush (wood stain optional)

6. Medium duty utility fabric (I used duck canvas.)

Tools: Wood saw and sewing machine

All of these materials are pretty inexpensive and available at Lowe's, Home Depot, and Jo-ann Fabrics.

Cut the baluster into 4 pieces, each 10" long. Here I use a hacksaw for a cleaner cut.

Sand the ends of each piece.

Cut the dowels into four long pieces and four short pieces. I made mine 20" and 10". For a regular magazine holder, you probably want pieces more like 16" and 7". Sand the ends of all the cut pieces.

Mark the baluster pieces so you can fit a 5/8" hole about half an inch from the sanded end. You will have two long pieces and two short pieces attached to each baluster post, so remember to space apart the holes about half an inch from each other on each end.

For a really clean edge, I used a 5/8" forstner drill bit.

The hole is about 1/2" deep.

Here you can see how I spaced the holes. The ones closer to the ends are for the long dowel pieces. 

Next, I cut a piece of the duck canvas 19.5" wide and 35" long. I folded in the edges and sewed them down to make four finished edges. When you cut the fabric for a different size holder, you can first assemble the wooden frame and wrap the fabric around to see how much you need. Remember to leave an extra 0.75" on each side for the folded edges.

Here I put together the wooden pieces WITHOUT glue and tested the length of my fabric.

You can use pins to get an idea how tight you want the fabric to be. Then take apart the wooden frame, and sew the fabric sleeves where you pinned them.

Now we're going to finish the wood pieces. If you want to stain them first, it will add a beautiful rich color. I decided to just coat mine in clear polycrylic. Two coats.

After the final layer of polycrylic has dried overnight, finish the assembly of the frame using wood glue. REMEMBER TO SLIP THE FABRIC SLEEVES ON THE DOWELS while you assemble!

Finished!

This isn't the easiest project, but I think with all the possible wood stain and fabric combinations, you could really add a unique touch to your living room.

Also makes a nice cat's cradle. 😄