Want to hang your quilt on a wall? Here is the best way to make a hanging sleeve for a quilt! Most quilts are hung using a rod or a slat of wood, so they need a sleeve for hanging. 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 way 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. Here I'll show you 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 by the finished width of the 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.
- Back to your ironing board. This is the trick I love. With 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.
- 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 pressed lines, pin the quilt sleeve to the back of your quilt along the pressed folds about 1" from the top edge.
Here is the side view of the quilt sleeve pinned on the quit. Notice the 'give' in the quilt sleeve? Now there is ease for the rod and your quilt top will not be warped! Hand stitch in place, making sure to only pick up the backing. I like to use a hem stitch or ladder stitch.
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How wide should a quilt hanging sleeve be?
Most quilt shows require the sleeves to be either 4-inch or 5-inch. 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.
Browse through more quilt projects and inspiration on Create Whimsy.
