How to Hang a Quilt

You don't have to ruin your favorite quilt in an effort to hang it on the wall. Stitch a sleeve onto the back of the quilt so it can hang from a curtain rod without being damaged.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Tailor's Measuring Tapes
• Curtain Rods
• Fabrics
• Sewing Needles
• Straight Pins
• Threads
• Straight Pins

1. Purchase a decorative curtain rod that will be a few inches wider than the top edge of the quilt. Wood and metal rods with attractive finials are ideal choices.

2. Measure the circumference of your rod with a flexible tailor's tape measure.

3. Cut (parallel to the threads within the fabric) a long rectangle of sturdy, tightly woven fabric such as sheeting, which will become the sleeve for the curtain rod. Its length should be equal to the width of your quilt, and its width should be equal to the circumference of your rod plus about 2 inches.

4. Turn the edges of the fabric under 1/2 inch, and stitch by machine or by hand. Press flat.

5. Pin the long edges of the sleeve about 1/2 inch from and parallel to the top edge of the quilt. The sleeve will stop about 1/2 inch from the sides of the quilt, too. Do not pin or stitch the short sides of the sleeve, because they will form the openings for your curtain rod.

6. Gently test the rod in the pinned sleeve to make sure it will go into your sleeve without binding. Adjust if needed.

7. Hand-sew the sleeve's long edges onto the quilt while being careful not to stitch through to the face of the quilt. Use a doubled thread and apply with a strong stitch such as a whip/overcast stitch or narrowly spaced hem stitch.

8. Mount the rod brackets on a wall.

9. Run the rod through the sleeve and install the rod on the brackets.

Tips & Warnings

• For a valuable or heirloom quilt, choose a site that does not receive strong sunlight. Ultraviolet rays cause textiles to fade and deteriorate.
• If your quilt can be hung from two opposite sides, you may want to apply two sleeves and periodically rotate its hanging position. This gives the hanging sides a rest and eases the strain on the quilt.

[aidenofthetower]

on 9/25/2008 It seems like sewing this to your quilt would be a bad idea. After all, it will no longer be a quilt should you decide you don't want to hang it on the wall anymore...

on 9/8/2006 My mother is a professional quilter, and she cringes when she sees me do this, however, I employ antiqued upholstery tacks to hang quilts in my apartment. They are attractive, very inexpensive, and hold the weight of a large quilt quite effectively. I do not recommend this method for a quilt that you treasure, but as I have several of my mother's old "practice" quilts, it's a smart and stylish solution.

on 11/22/2005 Attach half a strip of Velcro to the edge of the quilt, and the other half of the strip to the wall. The Velcro comes in self-adhesive rolls.

on 11/22/2005 You can drape a quilt through two grapevine or decorative wreaths for a dynamic look. Place one wreath at a high spot on the wall and place the other wreath lower and at an angle to the first wreath. You can rearrange quilt to ease fading and stretching.

on 11/22/2005 I used straight pins. I spaced them about 1 foot apart and tapped them into the wall with a hammer. It's worked for me for the past three years.