I seem to have a plethora of small quilts laying about here. I solved part of the problem by hanging some on slim curtain rods above the cutting table:
For these I added little sleeves behind the quilts to hang them from the rods. There are lots of instructions on the web for adding sleeves. The best part about this arrangement is that I can change it out whenever I want, five of the six are from swap partners I will never meet and the one that is mine (the little brown one on the bottom left) is a constant reminder to read and FOLLOW instructions... when the instructions are important.
There are some drawbacks to this method of displaying little wall quilts. First of all, you need a quilt that can have a sleeve sewn on without disturbing the front of the piece. Each of these quilts had firm quilted lines to hide any stitching from adding the sleeve. There is also the issue of putting holes in the wall to put up the rods. In general I don't mind hanging things on the wall but I hate having to fill and paint them over if I ever change my mind about the idea or the use of the room.
I think I have come up with a way to display these little gems without any regrets.
The quilts I put up today were completed without any idea how to finally use them. Almost a big mistake but I think I solved it.
Supplies:
Fabric for hangers about 6" x 6" - should somewhat match the backing and/or the binding
Dowel rod - approximaely 1/2" round, as long or longer than your quilt top
Wood cutting tool - saw, exacto knife, tree branch loper etc.
3M Command Small Wire Hooks
First cut fabric into two 3" x 6" strips. Fold the strips into two 3" squares. Fold once more on the diagonal. You will now have a nice clean diagonal fold and two raw edges on each piece.
Sew the triangles on the top corners of your quilt, with the raw edges overlapping the binding about an eighth of an inch. You now have little holders on your quilt for your dowel.
Measure your dowel rod by putting one end into one one triangle and mark the other end about 1/2" from the end of the other holder.
Use your cutting tool ( I use tree branch lopers) to trim the dowel to the correct length.
Following the instructions on the package for the the small wall hooks, proceed to hang your quilt. I love these little hooks as you can use your pliers to snug up the hook to hug you dowel rod more firmly.
In all cases, a little pre-planning would have made this an easier process. If I had thought of doing this before adding the binding there would not have been any raw edges. On the other had, the raw edges didn't seem to be a problem when I washed the quilts.
There is one issue that makes me hesitant to recommend this method and that is that wood can absorb moisture and damage a quilt with seepage. I don't think that should be an issue here in that the dowel rods are kiln dried and seem very stable, however, if that could be an issue for you, you could shellac the rods before using them to seal the wood even further.
I hope your weekend is going well and that you are not drowning in all the rain I have been having around here.
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