Ryan's Dresser

*Update: I've decided to offer my knot knobs for sale for those of you who would rather purchase them. You can find them here.

I posted about my son's dresser on my family blog, but I got a lot of questions about it so I thought I would go into more detail on how I did it. For those who haven't seen it yet, I bought the dresser from Goodwill in Milwaukee. I miss that Goodwill so much!! I found so many great deals there. So for those of you still in Milwaukee, take advantage of it! This dresser was listed at $14.99, but I had a 20% off coupon so I got it even cheaper. I really was going to take a "before" picture but as usual it was a spur-of-the-moment project. I started priming and then remembered I hadn't taken a picture. So just imagine a dark, beat-up, ugly dresser. Anyway, I'd been dying to try something like this, and I'm very happy that it all came together like I had hoped. 

The paint is a light gray, from our leftover painting project upstairs. I then lightly distressed the edges. I used the same stain on the drawers as I used on Ryan's bed which is Minwax Dark Walnut.

I'll explain how I did the numbers and made those knobs. But I first must say I don't profess to know-it-all, or to have the best technique but this is how I did it.

After I had placed one coat of stain I got on the computer to make a stencil for the numbers. In the past, when I've done similar projects I used to print out the letters or numbers, but I figured I was just wasting a lot of ink so now I just trace it off the computer screen like so:

I then cut it out and traced it onto the drawer with pencil.

You could obviously do any color or use paint but I didn't want the numbers to stand out too much. I also wanted to still be able to see the grain of the wood. I used this staining medium (pictured below) that I got from Joann's. You are supposed to add acrylic paint to it, but instead I added a little of the stain (dark walnut). The staining medium is a little thicker making it easier to control compared to the thin stain which can easily run. I then followed my tracing and painted the numbers on.

Once the numbers were on, I used Fiddes and Sons wax that I purchased from their website. It was so easy and fast to use. I love it!

The dresser came with silver knobs, but I really wanted to add some texture so I tied monkey knots over the existing knobs with jute twine. I'll admit that this was initially difficult, but overall it wasn't too bad, just time consuming.

If you're going to try this, you need to use spherical knobs, not flat ones like these shown in the demonstration.

First, cut about two yards of jute. You probably won't need that much but for the first one it's better to have extra. You can always scale back once you get a better idea of how much you'll actually need.

 

Next, hold on to the end and start wrapping around two fingers, but that also depends on how big your knobs are.

Wrap 4-5 times.

 Then pull the long end of your jute through the loop so the end is on the other side. Like so.

Here is another photo from a different angle once it's pulled completely through.

Then start wrapping the jute around the 4-5 loops, the same way you wrapped it around your fingers.

 Do that again 4-5 times. This is how it should look.

Then you will need to put your knob in at this point. Separate a set of wrapped twine (see where my finger is).

This is tricky and your jute will get a little messed up, but be patient because you can fix it once the knob is inside. Just try not to lose the shape of the knot.

Since these knobs are not spherical like those on Ryan's dresser, (and because I didn't have the patience) I just finished the knot without the knob inside...sorry. So pretend that the knob part is inside with the base sticking out the bottom.

The next step is to thread the jute under the first set of twine that you wrapped around your finger.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about my secret weapon: floss threaders. It's like a needle but flexible. These things were lifesavers!!

 Once pulled through, go over the second set of jute that you wrapped.

Then go back under the other side of the first set of jute, kind of like you're weaving a basket.

 Continue to do this again, 4-5 times.

Until it looks like this:

You then cut it right to the base of the knot and tuck the end in.

There you have your Monkey knot.

 

Prior to refinishing this dresser, Ryan wasn't happy that I had swapped dressers with Sarah (this one was initially supposed to go in her room, but in the end it just didn't work). But now that I refinished it, he loves it.

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