Thanks for all your input! I will make a new sleeve with 9" and give it a good 1/2" seam.

Here's another method for sleeving your quilt.

Jan in VA

While Jan's illustrated method is fine for "at home" quilts (there are many others, as well), if you are quilting for show, it's best to stick with a full width 4" sleeve unless you know something else is required (or permitted). In judged shows, sleeves are subject to judging...and in juried shows, you may not even get in unless you abide by sleeving requirements. The OP was specifically asking about show quilts in this instance. :)

Two notes on sleeve construction;
1) there is less obstruction to the rod if you sew your sleeve seam with the WRONG sides together. That puts the seam allowances on the outside of the sleeve which places them facing the backing of the quilt, never to be seen again and entirely out of the way of the rod.
2) if you fold over a ¼" twice on the short sides before stitching, a double fold, you will not have a raw edge inside the sleeve. Stitch as closely to the folded edge as you can to reduce the fabric lip. It will look neater, wash more securely, and load more smoothly over time.

When we were hanging the children's quilts at our guild show last fall, there were several sleeves that were amusing in their form - and completely unusable as there was no way to slide the pole through them. We ended up using lots of safety pins so that they quilts could be hung. I spoke to the girls when we returned the quilts to them, to let them know what we had done - and so that they could improve for the next show.

This is not something I would (or could) do for an adult's quilt. At judging a sleeve problem was caught that hadn't been caught at the take-in, and the quilt was sent home so that it could be fixed and returned the following morning. Obviously, this can't be done at a larger show, especially if it is being sent out.


Cheers, K

Well I would make sure it was the 4 inch size they wanted or bigger. Many of the suggestions are good. I would add a 2 inch strip along the bottom edge after removing it from the back of the quilt. You could sew by hand or machine. Then reattach it to the quilt by hand. For future hanging sleeves cut the sleeve 10 inches it will finish at the size you need. Unless they want a 5 inch sleeve then I would cut it 11 or 12 inches. Good luck Luann