Over the years I've played with many ways of hanging quilts, this just happens to be my favorite. First, cut a slat (ideally something flat) that is roughly 3/4" shorter than the width of the quilt. Ideally one would use a nice hard wood that is untreated and sanded smooth. The piece I'm using today is just what we have at the moment. Insert screw eyes into each end:
Measure the wall and figure out where you want one end of the slat to go. This is where the first nail goes:
Using a level, after hanging one end of the slat on the wall, figure out where to put the second nail:
Using the screw eye as a guide, nail the second nail into the wall:
Insert the slat into the sleeve:
Hang the quilt:
The slat and screw eyes should be completely hidden. Notice how the bulge of the slat will translate to the front. To avoid this you can add some "give" in the sleeve, and it helps to have a big sleeve. The sleeve for this quilt was made before I paid attention to all that. I also, usually work with thinner slats, but....
VOILA!
Lately I've been a big fan of a double sleeve - one on top and one on the bottom. The top I use for hanging (of course), and the bottom one is used to house a slat that helps the quilt hang flat.
I seal the bottom sleeve shut so the slat doesn't migrate out, and wee-beasts don't migrate in!
Just my opinion; THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH USING A SLAT ON THE BOTTOM. The difference between one with and one without is sometimes amazing, and IT ADDS VALUE TO A QUILT TO HAVE IT HANG FLAT (unless your name is Regina Benson!). This is a hand and machine manipulated art form and in the end, it's bound to need a little help lying flat. Happy Hanging!
8 comments:
Do you think if you added a little give in the sleeve that the quilt wouldn't bulge over the slat? I'm not sure...
Anyway, the quilt looks fabulous!
This is my favorite way to hang a quilt too. I don't usually do a counter weight at the bottom, but I'm not opposed to it. My ginormous "Quiltstadt" has one. I also add a little pleat in the sleeve so that the thickness of the slat poofs to the back, not the front.
I am finding though, that I really like smaller pieces (18" or less) to be framed or mounted on something to give them more presence.
Although your post was about hanging a quilt I could not stop admiring this GREAT quilt. I love the colors!!!!!!! Although I am reading your blog for a looong time, I have never seen this quilt before....this for sure is excellent work. dont you dont want to show a bigger picture of it?
Robin, Thanks for the info. I will using this method whenever I get enough pieces completed for my one woman show at the local library. Thanks so much for sharing! The house is looking fab esp. with the quilted art pieces on the neutral walls. What is that color called? It is just the perfect beige neutral - at least on my computer screen I don't get a yellow or green cast.
I agree, my favorite way as well. But add an extra 1/4" to the sleeve to make the quilt hang flat!
By the way, love the quilt - more close-ups please...........
Thanks guys for reminding me about adding "give" in the sleeve. I went back and re-edited my post because someday I hope list tutorials and wouldn't want this one to be wrong. I couldn't imagine writing a book! Anyway, the grey is fabulous and it's called "versatile grey" from Sherwin Williams. Thanks too for complimenting the quilt - I really like it too, it has always been one of my favorites, yet it got so little attention!
I just hang a curtain rod on my wall and thread that through the sleeve I've sewn into my quilt, but I'm not doing museum shows. If your quilt has ripples in the bottom because it doesn't hang quite straight, you can raise it up just a bit on the 2 ends. This works better with a thinner rod and some give in your sleeve than with a larger slat like you have used.
That quilt is stunning!
I just wanted to say that that's a beautiful quilt (that's what caught my eye)
I am still in the design stage of my first quilt and I am waaaaaaays away from making a quilt for display but this information is great and hopefully will be useful one day...Thanks for sharing.
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