Calling my crafty friends....

[anghara]

...do any of you know anything about quilt hangers, are they better than just using a rod and holders or worse, I have this tapestry, see, that I've been working on for over ten years (on and off) and it's finally been finished and ready to hang and now I'm exploring options on how to get it on my wall with the least possible damage or drama. Pictures when it's up, promise!

Comments

[newroticgirl.livejournal.com]

Do you know debbiemumford? She's one heck of a quilter and might have some useful info.

(Since my standard method of hanging anything from curtains to calendars is thumbtacks, I'm not the person to be advising!) :D

[wishwords.livejournal.com]

My mother is the closest thing to an expert in this area that I know. She's had quilts shown at the Hague and helps hang the International Quilt Festival in Houston every year. She says the best method from both showing and conservation standpoints is to hand stitch a tube of fabric to the back of the textile (I think she uses a cross stitch) and use an untreated wooden rod (with fancy finials) to hang it. That way the weight is evenly distributed and doesn't stress any single part and there's nothing to cause the fabric to deteriorate.

[msisolak.livejournal.com]

As an ex-quilter (I gave it up for word count :P) I'm going to second this technique. The fabric strip (unfinished) can be as wide as you need, although it's usually between 2-4", and runs the length of the hanging side of the textile within 1/2" of the top edge. Most of my quilts hang without finials, btw, so there's another option.

What you do want to consider is the amount of light in the room where you hang it. I've rotated mine in the past to avoid having fabrics turn brittle or fade. If it's a well-lit room, consider hanging it on the wall that receives the least direct sunlight.

[grumpymartian.livejournal.com]

Museum person here... this technique above or you can also attach wide velcro (again with a loose easily removable stitch) to the back all the way across the top, and then attach the other side of the velcro to a piece of wood (or whatever) which will be attached to the wall. Depending on the velcro or the piece you are hanging you may want to put a piece of cotton or linen between it and the tapestry.

The main thing is for the tapestry to hang from contact points all the way across, and for whatever method you use to attach either a sleeve or velcro to the tapestry to be 100% reversible.

I can provide futher links, or instructions if you want.

[ramblin-phyl.livejournal.com]

Quilt hangers can be expensive. But the devices for clamping onto the fabric offer minimal damage and balanced support. If you use your own rod, you need to sew enough loops of fabric evenly across one end of the tapestry so that it balances and doesn't sag.

Quilt hangers also have the advantage of sometimes having a shelf at the top. Room for more books or decorative plates or knick knacks.

[barbarienne.livejournal.com]

I hung my carpets by having a professional company (that sell and clean carpets) sew a sleeve onto the back, which I then ran a dowel through. I hung the dowel with standard curtain-rod holders.

Of course, the carpets are all of 3 or 4 feet wide. I don't know how big your tapestry is, but if you need a center support, then this method won't work.

Our local guru says:

[zornhau.livejournal.com]

I asked our local quliting jedi mistress. She said:

"Personally, although there are several styles of quilt hangers on the market, I wouldn’t use any of them for various reasons. They can be intrusive and expensive, but, mostly because they can potentially damage the quilt. I always make my own hanging sleeves. If your friend has been working on this splendid tapestry for ten years then I don’t think s/he’d mind going that little bit further to make a hanging sleeve for it which is the best option regarding stability for the hanging and cost. A sleeve is simple to make and invisible when the piece is hung; a sleeve for the bottom can also be made if a slight weight is needed to get it to hang properly or to keep it straight. The only thing with making it yourself is regarding the wooden dowel inserted in the sleeve for the actual hanging: make sure the wood is sealed before using it or the acids can damage textiles, but, again, easy and cheap to do yourself. Depending on the weight of the hanging, it can be as easy as mounting the dowel on cup hooks on the wall.

If your friend would like some instructions, let me know and I can easily email them on – there’s a great one page easy to follow instruction sheet in one of the quilt magazines for novice quilters that I really like and it is easy to hand. Alternatively, if your friend has any further questions or whatever and would like to email direct, please pass on my address. Hope this is of some help.
"

Ping me if you want her email...

[anghara.livejournal.com]

Rod and hangers it is, then. Thanks for the input, everybody.

I will be venturing forth to purchase the hanging gear Very Soon. I promise there WILL be pictures when I am done.