As promised!! Last week, I showed you several options for storing quilts including hanging them on a wall. If you are not a fan of thumb tacks, and you want to know the best way to discreetly hide a rod or slat behind a quilt, this post is for you!
Lay your quilt out and measure the top edge from one side to the other. Cut enough 4.5” strips (or bigger if you like) to span the width of the quilt. Sew the strips together, end to end, and press the seams open.
Cut the strip down to the length needed (I cut mine exactly the same as the top edge of the quilt). Then, fold under each end 1”, and then again 1”. Press and sew. This hem will make the sleeve fall inside the edge of the quilt, 2” on each edge, just enough to conceal the mounting hooks.
Now, press both long edges under ¼”. Press the whole thing in half lengthwise.
Lengthen your stitch length as long as it will go (mine goes to 5.0). Sew a stay-stitch ½” from the folded edge. No need to back stitch, these stitches will be removed before we are done.
Press the sleeve open to flatten out the flap.
Pin the sleeve to the top edge of the quilt. Whip stitch or use a hidden “binding” stitch down both edges, securing the beginning and end with several knots. Note: If I hadn’t already faced this quilt and was instead doing a traditional binding, I would have tucked the top edge of the sleeve in with the binding seam, meaning I would only be hand stitching down the bottom edge.
Now, it’s time to take out that stay-stitching. This opens up a pocket of extra fabric to easily fit a rod into without it pushing the front of the quilt out.
Here it is with a large dowel in it, and the front of the quilt hangs totally flat. This would work even with a larger curtain rod.
I plan to hang this one on a slat board, like a yardstick, and mount it to the wall with some temporary hooks (I should have bought the shorter bracketed hooks so they don’t stick up above the quilt…. I’ll be going back for those :).
This style hook gives it a very low profile against the wall though, and that is perfect for where I want to hang it!
There it is folks :) I hope that was helpful!
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