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Spreading quilty joy one stitch at a time!

How to make a quilt hanging sleeve in 8 steps

August 12, 2021 by Shannon 8 Comments

Learn how to make a hanging sleeve for any size quilt you want to hang using this 8 step tutorial by Shannon Fraser Designs #quilttutorial #quilthangingsleeve

Do you ever make quilts that you’d love to hang on your walls?

After all, there’s only so many beds you need to cover and throws you need scattered around the house before you’ve maxed out your surfaces.

But what about your walls?

One of my favourite things is to turn my quilts into wall art.

You get to see the full quilt on display. There are some gorgeous quilts that take advantage of the entire quilt to showcase their design. Featuring those quilts on the wall allows you to enjoy that view on the daily vs having it folded on a couch.

Normally we think of smaller quilts as possible options to hang, but you can actually hang any size quilt – even a large king size!

The approach is the same no matter what size you’re looking to hang.

Read on for all the tips on how to do just that!

Learn how to make a hanging sleeve for any size quilt you want to hang using this step-by-step tutorial by Shannon Fraser Designs #quilttutorial #quilthangingsleeve

*This post contains affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, if you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission.

MATERIALS NEEDED

Before diving into the tutorial, let’s cover what you’ll need.

The good news is, you don’t need to pick up too many materials and notions to hang your quilts, but you’ll need some basics, including:

  • Fabric – for the sleeve – this will not be visible when hung up, so feel free to use scraps or leftover fabric from your project 😉 Here I’ve used trimmings from the backing of my Cloud Surfing Quilt.
  • *Thread
  • *Needle
  • *Rotary Cutter
  • *Ruler
  • *Pins
  • *Thimble
  • Sit ‘n Sew Pin cushion
  • Thread conditioner (optional)
  • *Iron
  • *Pressing Mat

PREPARING YOUR HANGING SLEEVE

This is super simple to do.

The first step is to cut your hanging sleeve.

A basic formula to follow is to cut your sleeve the exact width of the quilt you want to hang by 8 ½” tall. I’ve found the 8 ½” to be a little short, so I tend to go with this formula: Width of Quilt x 9″ tall. I also sometimes deviate on the width of my sleeve and dock about a ½” on either end (this latter change is really about personal preference).

For the quilt shown, I went with a starting sleeve size of 24″ x 9″ to fit my mini Modern Aztec quilt (pattern available here), which measures 24″ wide.

ENCLOSING YOUR SLEEVE ENDS

With the wrong side of the fabric facing up, fold the short ends of your quilt hanging sleeve in ¼” towards the wrong side of the fabric and press. Then fold in again a ¼” and press again.

Stitch in place an 1/8″ from the edge.

How to fold, press and stitch the ends of your quilt hanging sleeve closed for a seamless finish. How to make a quilt hanging sleeve in 8 steps by Shannon Fraser Designs #howtoquilt
The ends of your quilt hanging sleeve enclosed after stitching in place. How to make a quilt hanging sleeve in 8 steps by Shannon Fraser Designs #howtoquilt

Now that your ends are nice and enclosed and seamless, let’s focus on getting the hanging sleeve enclosed!

PRESS YOUR HANGING SLEEVE

Working with the wrong side facing up, fold in half and press.

Open the sleeve and then fold in half way towards the crease you created in the previous step and press again.

Repeat with the other side and press again.

It will look like you have an accordion looking piece of fabric. Fret not – you’re on the right track!

How to fold and press your quilt hanging sleeve to help you center your sleeve when attaching it to the back of your quilt How to make a quilt hanging sleeve tutorial by Shannon Fraser Designs #quilting
How your quilt hanging sleeve will look after pressing it. #quilthangingsleeve #diy #quilttutorial

ENCLOSING YOUR SLEEVE

Now, align the raw edges with the wrong side of the fabric facing each other (i.e. right side of fabric facing out) and pin in place.

Using a ¼” seam allowance, stitch the raw edge together effectively enclosing the sleeve.

Press your seams open, trying to preserve the original crease marks you made in Step 4 (aka the accordion!).

Voila! You’ve just created your first quilt hanging sleeve 😊

ATTACHING THE HANGING SLEEVE TO YOUR QUILT

Now that you have your completed sleeve, let’s focus on getting her attached to your quilt!

With the seam side placed against the back of your quilt, center it along the top edge of your quilt.

Pin in place, making sure to leave some ease for the rod to slip into. Otherwise, the rod will bump out to the front and your quilt won’t hang straight.

How to attach your DIY quilt hanging sleeve to the back of your quilt. Shown here using the Modern Aztec quilt by Shannon Fraser Designs #quilttutorial

TIP: double check you’ve left enough slack before tacking her down. I realized I made this mistake riiiiight before I was shipping out my Cloud Surfing quilt to hang in a show – cue the panic!

Hanging sleeve pinned in place on the back of the Modern Aztec mini quilt and ready to be stitched down with a blind stitch. Quilt Hanging Sleeve tutorial by Shannon Fraser Designs #quiltutorial
Close up of the DIY hanging sleeve attached with a blind stitch to the back of the Modern Aztec mini quilt. Shannon Fraser Designs #quilthangingsleeve #tutorial

Using a blind stitch, stitch the hanging sleeve in place around the entire perimeter. Read this Quilt Binding Tutorial – Part 2 for tips on how to blind stitch for a seamless finish!

DIY hanging sleeve attached to the back of the Modern Aztec mini quilt by Shannon Fraser Designs. #quilthangingsleeve
Modern Aztec mini quilt in shades of coral featuring a DIY hanging sleeve.
Pictured above is the Modern Aztec quilt – pattern available in the shop.

And that’s it!

Simple, right?

How do you love showing off your quilts? Share in the comments below so we can all get in on the quilty fun!

xo,

Shannon

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Filed Under: Tutorials Tagged With: How to Quilt, Quilting Basics, Tutorial

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Comments

  1. Julie Davis says

    August 12, 2021 at 12:50 pm

    Perfect Timing! I’m about to make a wall hanging for a room in our church!! I needed this tutorial. Thank you, thank you!!

    Reply
    • Shannon says

      August 12, 2021 at 12:52 pm

      Wahoo! Thrilled it came at just the right time! I’d love to see your quilt hanging up when she’s ready!

      Reply
  2. Carrie Penning Bush says

    August 12, 2021 at 12:50 pm

    Great tutorial! Please post more pictures of the rod and how you hang it on the wall. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Shannon says

      August 12, 2021 at 12:53 pm

      Ha! Yes! I will do that when I get her hung installed!

      Reply
  3. Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl says

    August 13, 2021 at 2:30 pm

    This is exactly how I make hanging sleeves, too. I prefer 9″ x WOF as it gives a nice pocket for a hanging rod without bulging out the front of the quilt. Great tutorial!

    Reply
    • Shannon says

      August 13, 2021 at 4:00 pm

      We twin, Yvonne!! Happy to hear we approach hanging sleeves in the same way – right down to how wide we cut our strip! 😁

      Reply
  4. Atreyee says

    August 18, 2021 at 1:44 pm

    This is a perfectly written tutorial. I love that this can be made for an existing (binding already on) quilt. Can’t wait to try it later this week.

    Reply
    • Shannon says

      August 18, 2021 at 2:42 pm

      I’m so happy you enjoyed the tutorial! I’d love to know how it works out for you when you try it later this week!

      Reply

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Hi! I'm Shannon. A modern quilt pattern designer based in Montreal. My quilting journey started by stumbling upon a half square triangle tutorial and I've been hooked since. I'm now spreading that quilty joy to you! Read More…

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