A new baby means lots of new clothes and the baby clothes are much smaller than the kinds of clothes you’re probably used to storing. Consequently the hangers you need are much smaller than the ones you might already have, particularly if it’s your first baby. Baby hangers can be made of wood or plastic and they are child sized for child sized clothes. They don’t have to be boring pieces of wood or plastic hanging featureless in the wardrobe. Like many baby goods, baby hangers can be decorated and made to fit in with the general feel of the baby’s environment.

Baby hangers are manufactured to be gentle on delicate baby clothes. Some of these clothes, such as a Christening gown, will be handed down from one generation to the next and requires an appropriate hanger to ensure it isn’t damaged.

Wood baby hangers are perfect materials to begin with if you want to create a personal hanger that may eventually become a precious heirloom. With some paint, ribbon and some imagination you can turn an ordinary looking baby hanger into a monogrammed hanger that will become synonymous with the early years of your child’s life.

A decorated baby hanger would also make a perfect gift for an expectant mother. They’re often items that are overlooked when preparing for the birth of a child and so, to have one that is personalized would make a nice touch.

Some of the decorated baby hangers that I always remember seeing in my cupboards were wooden hangers that had been fitted with a crocheted covering. You can pick these up at just about any craft stall in the world, everyone’s nana has made one of these, I’m sure. The crochet work serves to protect the delicate baby clothes from the damaging edges of the hanger making them both functional as well as age appropriate.

Wooden baby hangers are available in a small variety of configurations depending on the types of clothes or combination of clothes you will be hanging up. Because a lot of your baby’s clothes will be sets it makes sense that you will want to hang them together for convenience sake.

The standard wooden baby hanger is a 10 inch arched hanger that is crafted flat on the sides to save space. The ends of these types of hangers are often notched at either end so that thin straps may be hung without slipping off the end.

Taking a step beyond the basic wooden baby hanger is the 10 inch combination hanger which involves the same configuration on top to hang shirts and dresses, but also comes with clips underneath from which you will be able to hang trousers or skirts.

Each of these types of wooden baby hangers feature a strong steel hook, which is pretty much a given, except the end of the baby hanger’s hook finishes with a rounded ball for added safety.

You can get wooden baby hangers as just plain items or they are also available adorned with various additions such as cute little animals or attractive designs such as fairies or flowers. For boys you might find hangers adorned with sports balls.

Not quite as able to be decorated as the wooden hangers, plastic baby hangers are still ideal for hanging up delicate infant clothing. The hardened plastic yields no sharp edges that can snag or catch on fabric threads. Baby hangers are generally around 10 inches wide which will cater for most baby clothes.

Some plastic baby hangers are created with notches on the shoulders to cater for dresses with straps rather than sleeves. The hanger may also extend beyond simply the horizontal shoulders in order to keep the shape of the clothes that are being hung on it.

Plastic is a material that is capable of being molded into virtually any shape so you will be able to find hangers that are shaped into appropriate shapes and characters. They certainly don’t have to look like plain clothes hangers.

In order to stop clothes from puckering the edges of baby hangers should be rounded and with the wooden hangers you would expect them to be thickly lacquered so that there is no chance of splinters. Although they are seemingly simple items, baby hangers help to protect the clothes that are hanging on them. They are also low cost items that are designed to last for many years.