Sleeve for hanging quilts
 

I was nudged to enter a quilt show organized by my guild. As per rules, all quilts must have a hanging sleeve. The quilt I will be showing is already finished and is a gift for a friend. Is there a way to add a temporary sleeve? Something that will not leve marks on the quilt after it has been removed? Thank you!

I did it several times. Not sure if my sleeves would be considered quilt show worthy, but I just made the sleeves according to direction found on several different quilt sites and then hand stitched them to the back of the quilt, using very, very small and tight stitches, and being sure to double stitch every 5th stitch or so. The sleeves can still be pretty easily removed, with no damage to the quilt at all.

You can hand sew a sleeve to the back, just take care not to stitch into the front of the quilt. For a temporary sleeve you could just use muslin. The top of the sleeve could be right under the binding as near as you can get, but so you can easily stitch. For a temporary sleeve, you wouldn't have to worry so much about the stitching being really close together. Just make sure that both sides are really secure at the ends.

Hand sewing the sleeve on will not leave marks. They are easy to remove, and you can save the sleeve to use again in the future.

Good luck in the show!

Dayle

I was thinking about using this method. It seems not too complicated. I am thinking that the workshop that the guild will be having will cover how to apply a sleeve after binding. I am hoping that there will be some other easy ways to put on the sleeve.

I thought that I read "something" somewhere about the sleeve needing a pleat of some sort to help it to hang properly or something? I know that there are several show vets here that can give us some guidance on this matter. Anyway, here is the link to the instructions that I am thinking about.

http://westernportquilters.org/2012/...ow/entryp4.pdf

Thank you all, and thanks for the instructions. Yesterday I was not going to ever enter a show, and today I am thinking of entering two quilts. Crazy person! Peer pressure at adult age - LOL!

Your directions in westernportquilters actually allow for the pleat - see the third paragraph from the bottom.

I often make temporary sleeves, usually using muslin, and if I take one off a quilt that I won't show again, then I can re-use it on another quilt, possibly changing its length. Good luck at the show if your quilt is judged, and just have fun with it.

Just be certain the sleeve meets the minimum size dictated by the show - it is 4 inches for our show. I was in charge of hanging the Junior's quilts and 2 of them did have sleeves but there was no way we were getting a dowel through those sleeves. We ended up using safety pins to create a sleeve by rolling over the top border of the quilt. Both quilts were huge. I explained what we did to the juniors and their grandmother and they were happy that it worked out and that their quilts were shown.

This is not something we could or would do for an adult's quilt. One quilt slipped by take-in without a sleeve, so one of the folks at judging contacted the quilter and arranged to get the quilt back to her for the sleeve and then collect it to get it hung the following morning. Our guild offers a "finishing" meeting where various sleeve/binding/finishing techniques are taught the month before the show.

Cheers, K

However you decide to do the sleeves for entering the guild"s show, good luck on entering the show!