Monday, January 10, 2011

How to hang a quilt

I've had this beautiful quilt in the closet collecting dust for five years and finally found some wall space for it. It was made for my dad by his grandmother - my great grandmother. I love having it and it looks so great hanging above the boys' toy chest. Here's how to hang your own quilt:

First choose a curtain rod. I decided that I didn't want the ends of mine showing beyond the edges of the quilt, but you could certainly get a fancier rod if you want it to show a bit. The heft of the rod will depend on the heaviness of your quilt. Because this is a fairly small and very light-weight quilt, I got a skinny aluminum (?) rod at Target that cost about $6.

Next you need to make your sleeve. Using any 100% cotton fabric that you have lying around, cut a long strip of fabric that is the length of the top of your quilt and the width of 2.5 times the width of your curtain rod. For example, if you have a 1 inch rod, cut your strip 2 1/2 inches wide. Carefully fold the long sides of the strip under (makings sure that the width of the folded strip is big enough to accomadate your curtain rod) and iron them, like so:

Flip your strip over and place it on the back of your quilt, a few inches below the top edge. Take care to make sure the strip is placed straight - if it is crooked, your quilt will hang crookedly and you will have to start over. Trim the ends of the sleeve so they end just a few inches inside the outside edges of the quilt. Pin the sleeve in place.

Now you are ready to sew. Thread an embroidery needle with two strands of thread, tie a knot at the end, and use a simple running stitch to attach the sleeve to the back of the quilt. Be sure not to poke the needle all the way through the quilt, otherwise your stitches will show up on the front of your quilt. Stitch along the two long ends of the sleeve, leaving the short ends open to push the curtain rod through.

Now you are ready to hang your quilt! Attach your mounting hardware to the wall, making sure everything is on the level, run the rod through your sleeve, and hang it up! Now you and everyone else can enjoy your quilt, and it can hang safely on the wall without getting stretched out of shape or having holes hammered into it. Enjoy!

4 comments:

Pamela said...

There is nothing you can't do!

Anonymous said...

How lovely! What an amazing heirloom!

Jen Mc. said...

So good to know!! This is an awesome and useful step-by-step! And the triangle quilt is adorable!!

Anonymous said...

wonderful!! isn't it neat to have something so special from past family members to display! :>)

Liz