I showed you the transformation of my living room last week, but I intentionally avoided showing you one wall.  The one with the television.  Sure, I’m glad it’s there when I need a “Say Yes to the Dress” fix or my family decides it’s time to introduce our youngest to the Matrix trilogy, but it’s just not a very attractive addition to the room.

Part of our living room plan was to hang the television directly on the wall, route the wires for the DVR, Playstation, Wii, etc. over to the shelves to the right of the fireplace and move the shelving unit everything is currently sitting on into the basement.  It’s a big project, so we’re tackling it in stages.

Our most recent progress was to hang the television on the wall.  The shelf was cut down another row (it used to be five rows tall) and my husband hung the t.v. above it.  It looks better already, but the problem was this.

What a mess!  I decided to make a fabric wrap to cover and hold all the cords together.  The stumbling block was that when I pulled the cords together, they’re attached to different parts of the t.v., so the top needed to be large enough to accommodate that, while the bottom should be tighter in order to keep the wrap in place.  The solution was a trapezoid.  Who says you’ll never use that math again?

If you’re making one of these, you may need to adjust the measurements to suit your situation.  My cords measured about 6 inches around at the top and 3 inches around 10 inches down from that, which is how tall I wanted my wrap.  The trapezoid I used as my pattern looked like this:

Cut two of this piece from home décor or other medium-weight fabric.  If you’re using lighter weight, add a piece of iron-on interfacing to the back.  You’ll also need about 10 inches of 5/8 or 3/4” wide Velcro.

Pin the two pieces with right sides together.  Stitch around, 1/4” from the edge, leaving 2 inches open at the bottom.  Turn right side out through the opening.  Press, turning in the edges of the opening. 

Cut the Velcro so it fits on the left side 1/4” from the top, bottom and side edges.  Pull apart and pin the loop side in place.  Stitch.

Flip over and repeat with the loop portion of the Velcro so both pieces are on opposite sides.

Topstitch around the entire shape or just across the bottom if you prefer.  Wrap around your cords, securing with the Velcro in the back.

Isn’t that better?

I love this room more every day!