Want to hang your quilt on a wall? Here is the best way to make a hanging sleeve for a quilt! There are many different methods for adding a sleeve, this is my favorite. You’ve taken the time to make a beautiful quilt, you want to take the time to make a sleeve that doesn’t distort the front of the quilt when it is hanging.
Most quilts are hung using a rod or a slat of wood, so they need a sleeve for hanging. This works for both small wall hangings, as well as large quilts. Sleeves are sewn to the back of the quilt along the top edge. The sides of the sleeve are finished for a nice clean look.
If you are entering your quilt into a show, most require hanging sleeves of either 4″ or 5″.
The key is to have ‘slack’ in the sleeve so that the rod doesn’t warp the top of your quilt. Here is my favorite method to make a hanging sleeve for a quilt.
How to Make a Hanging Sleeve for a Quilt
There are some tricks to making a perfect hanging sleeve for a quilt. The hanging sleeve is placed on the back of a quilt to make it easier to hang on a wall.
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Here is our sleeve tutorial - my favorite way to make a quilt sleeve.
Materials
- 10-1/2" strip of fabric the same width as your finished quilt
- Thread to blend with your quilt back
Tools
- Sewing machine
- Iron
- Ironing board
- Rotary cutter
- Rotary mat
- Hand sewing needle
- Pins
Instructions
- Start by cutting fabric strips to make the quilt sleeve. (If your quilt is wide, you may need to cut an extra strip to piece a longer sleeve.) For a finished 5" sleeve, cut the strip 10-1/2 inches wide by the finished width of your quilt. For a 4" quilt sleeve, cut the strip 8-1/2 inches.
- Finish both edges by taking the strip to your ironing board and first pressing 1/4" in from each of the short edges.
Fold over again and press again, forming a folded finished edge. 
- Topstitch the folded ends of the strip of fabric to secure the finished edges. This finishes the side of the sleeve.
- Back to your ironing board. This is the trick I love. With the wrong sides together, press the sleeve in half lengthwise.
- Open up the fabric. Using the pressed line in the middle of the fabric, fold both sides into the center.
And, press firmly. You want a good, crisp pressing line, as this will be your stitching line to attach the sleeve to your quilt back..
- Turn right sides together and fold in half lengthwise. Stitch the raw edges together with a 1/4" seam allowance.
- Using a sleeve roll or clapper, press the seam open and flat. It's important to put something inside the sleeve while pressing.
You want to keep those creases you pressed earlier, as they will be your hand stitching lines. 
- Turn the fabric right side out. Using those long edge pressed lines, pin the quilt sleeve to the back of the quilt along the pressed folds about 1" from the top edge of your quilt. Place the pressed seam in the middle of the sleeve to the quilt side.
Here is the side view of the quilt sleeve pinned on the quilt. Notice the 'give' in the quilt sleeve? Now there is ease for the hanging rod and your quilt top will not be warped when it is hung on a wall! Hand stitch in place at both the top and the bottom edge of the sleeve, making sure to only pick up the backing fabric. I like to use a hem stitch or ladder stitch.
Notes
By cutting the sleeve width exactly the width of your quilt, and then finishing the side edges with two folds of 1/4-inch on each side, makes the finished sleeve width 1 inch less than the finished quilt. When placing the sleeve on the back of the quilt, center the entire sleeve on the back. That gives you about 1/2-inch on each side from the outside edge of the quilt. Your quilt is fully supported across the top when being hung.
Recommended Products
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-
Dritz 61 Glass Head Pins, Extra Fine, 1-3/8-Inch (250-Count) , White -
Omnigrid Non-Slip quilter's Ruler, 6" x 24", Neon Green -
OLFA 24" x 36" Double-Sided, Self-Healing Rotary Mat -
45mm Rotary Cutter -
Bartnelli PULSE Ironing Board with New Patent Technology | Made in Europe with Patent Fast-Glide Turbo & Park Zone, With Smart Hanger, 4 Layer Cover Pad | 4 Premium Steel Legs (Size 43x13) -
Panasonic 360º Freestyle Advanced Ceramic Cordless Iron, Pest Repeller v.57, Teal -
Seams-Flat Pressing Bar with Solid Wood Core 17-3/4" by Maywood Studio -
Dritz 82503 Clothing Care Seam Roll
Hanging sleeves are a great way to display wall quilts, tapestries and other textile art pieces. Using this method allows you to display the piece without causing any damage. The piece is then hung with a rod, hanging pole or board that is inserted into the sleeve. For small quilts, a wooden dowel rod can be used. And, if you’d like, use a decorative curtain rod! See our article on creative ways to hang quilts.
How wide should a hanging sleeve be?
Most quilt shows require the sleeves to be either 4-inch or 5-inch finished width. I generally make mine 5-inch — better to be too big than too small!
How do you hang a quilt with a sleeve?
For personal display, I like to cut a piece of slat board about 1/2″ narrower than the quilt top finished width. Drill holes about 3/8″ from the end of both sides of the slat. Then I can use picture hanger in the holes to hang the quilt. Because the slat board is narrow in depth, the quilt will lie flat against the wall.
You can also use a dowel or rod in the sleeve. With a dowel, put eye hooks on the top of the dowel to hang the quilt. Get creative with some of the ideas in our article about hanging quilts.
Browse through more quilt projects and inspiration on Create Whimsy.
