saggy wallhanging
 

I made my first wall hangings and I really didn't have a clue to what I was doing. I put a pocket rod on the back and a dowel in it, but the top of the wall hanging is too droopy. I gave it to my dad for Father's Dad and I was appalled that it looked so bad when I saw it at his house yesterday!!!

Does the dowel run across the whole top? Did you spray starch it? Just a couple of thoughts.

The dowel runs across the whole top, but I think it's just too low.

Two things I've done are to sew a couple of the little white plastic o-rings on the back and nailing small finish nails onto which to hang them. I've also used regular straight pins hammered through the quilt and into the wall.

I attach my hanging sleeve right under the binding. As a matter of fact, I baste it on, raw edge of sleeve matching raw edge of wall hanging, then the sleeve gets sewn on to the wall hanging as I sew on the binding. The binding is then hand sewn on. Once completed, I pin the sleeve down so it doesn't move as I whip stitch the bottom of the sleeve onto the wall hanging Maybe you could get it back and sew on a new sleeve on the top of the wall hanging's back.

this is the way i do it as well. if using a string or ribbon on the dowel, though, it will show while hanging... so have to use a coordinated ribbon. otherwise, one has to use nails or pushpins in the wall at each end of the dowel

The sewn top of the sleeve, especially if it has a pleat, should be slightly below the binding seam so that when the rod is in place, nothing shows on the front.

I would try stapling the quilt to the wall. I always hang my wall hangings this way and the staples make such a small hole you can hardly see them. I usually staple in the seam of the binding and they are barely visible. Especially if you have problems with it lying flat. You can staples all 4 sides if necessary.

You could sew a soda tab on the droopy part and use a small nail or hook to attach to wall. I recently did that with an oddly shaped wall hanging and it worked great.

I always make sure my sleeve has a pleat in it, as the rod needs to have some place to live. and always all the way across the top just below the binding.......

Another thought, I have been looking at a quilt hanging system available on ebay that does not require a sleeve. I thought these were very interesting......
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Quilt-Hanger...item51947f2099

I think you could just ditch the dowel and use straight pins and pin it to your dad's wall. I have wall hangings without sleeves that I've pinned to my walls and they look just fine and the pins leave no big holes in the quilts.

To hang my wall hangings I make two squares (about 3 or 4 inches), fold them diagonally, and stitch them to the top corners of the back of the hanging as I put the binding on. Then I can cut a small dowel and insert it in the two corners and hang it from that. It has always worked great for me. You might want to baste them in before you add the binding so you don't have to worry about the stitching catching them just right.

Here's what I do for wall hangings.

after quilting and before adding binding

Measure width of WH. Example 20"wide. Divide in half = 10".

Cut two 10" squares and press diagonally in half.

Line the raw edges of each folded, pressed square on the upper corners of the back of the WH.

Baste the raw edges to the WH with 1/8" seam allowance.

Add your binding as usual.

Now you have two triangle pockets in the upper corners of the WH.

Measure a piece of sturdy cardboard as wide as the opening between the triangles and as deep or tall.

Slide the cardboard into the pockets, place the WH where you want to hang it and slide your hand into each pocket with a tack to push through the cardboard and into the wall. WH stays nice and flat and flush to the wall with no dowel bump.

Easy, peasy

I'm guessing from your description that you did the loop tabs at the top with a dowel through them rather than the rod pocket on the wallhanging itself???

if your dowel is too thin, it can bend. get a larger diameter one or a flat yard stick maybe.

Wow, these look like they'd work good!

I use that kind of hanger and sometimes they work and sometimes they don't.

Wow, you are so awesome!! I guess "Saggy" isn't the right word, just the top edge flops down. I will get it taken care of next time I'm there by attaching something to the corners to hang it on. I'm glad this is a fix that I don't have to bring it home and use the sewing machine! I can do it right there!

thanks!!

Thanks for that tip. I would have never thought of a soda tab, on for no traditional square wall hanging that would be perfect! :)

Those are neat. If you purchase them, please post your "review".

did you do a sleeve? sometimes a stiff muslin sleeve will do the trick!

Sometimes putting a sleeve with a dowel running through it on the BOTTOM helps.

I glued my avatar quilt to the wall with a hot glue gun! I used an old sheet on the back so it doesn't need to be seen. I made another quilt that looks terrible hanging. I'm thinking I didn't use a wide enough rod for the pocket, or maybe it's not squared up. I like the ideas here. I tried pinning through it, moving the pins around, but it still sags. I'm wondering if attaching it to something hard like masonite or other thin board would work better?

I did a wall hanging that was on point, so had to add dowel rods in little triangular pockets on all four sides to get it to hang right. It worked really well to attach the triangular pockets by stitching in the ditch of the binding. I then used a single little round plastic ring at the top for hanging.

It sounds like the rod pocket is too low. You can either add a new one that is right below the binding, OR, buy cafe curtain clips. These are rings that have a little clamp. You can hang these on the dowel and use the clamps to hold up the quilt. I do this all the time because I hate putting on the quilt sleeve.

I used to work for JCP Custom Decorating and we always figured a 1/2" takeup when figuring rod pockets. When I make a wallhanging, I make a sleeve, using the backing fabric 8-9" wide and the width of the wallhanging (less 1-2" - by the time you do a double fold 1/4" hem edge, it's the perfect size), stitched into the binding. I press a fold line into the sleeve, about 1" difference between the edges, that gives you about 1/2" takeup, so that the rod doesn't make a lump in your quilt. Then I hand stitch the folded edge down. When I first started, I used loops of fabric and the wallhangings sagged. Those loops were stitched into the binding. I found a quick fix that really works well for that. I dissolved some WSS (water soluble stabilizer) in water and sprayed it on the wallhanging, front and back. Let it lay on my cutting table until it was dry. No more sagging and no residue. I have the WSS, because I do FSL embroidery.

May be you just need to tack the pocket to the WH. It may be a little lower than it should be or too large for the rod and tacking it to the WH will keep the front from sagging forward. I'm sure Dad still loves it since you made it for him.

I put my pocket strip on the back, just under the binding, and I make two of the pocket strips so there's an opening in the center (I leave about 1 inch between the strips at the center) and sew them on like regular hanging strips. But this way I can hang the wall hanging from just a single hook on the wall and don't have to mess around with other rods and finishes for the ends of the dowel since nothing shows on the front.

How well was the wallhanging quilted? (how dense was the stitching).

If you only outlined a few places, or used SID...the wallhanging may not have had enough quilting to support the hanging rod. Get some shower curtain clips (the kind you pinch to open)...and clip one every 4-6" across the top of the wallhanging's top edge ...slide a dowell into the rings of the clips...and hang it that way.

If it droops take it and sew a running stitch at the top of the pocket. about 1/2" or so if you have to do it by hand.
Good luck.:shock:

I cut a 4" or 6" square, fold it corner to corner, then pin it into the backside of the quilt at the top of my wallhanging with the raw edges placed at the edge of the quilt in each corner - Left and Right at the top. Stitch it in place, then add your binding. Purchase a piece of dowelling that will fit from left to right corners, and hang it up. This works really well, much better than a sleeve, if the quilt or wallhanging is not toooooo large. Best of Luck..

I have seen directions on the web about putting triangles in each corner so a rod can be put in the top and bottom of the quilt which might make it hang better -- I have a wall hanging at our beach house that uses two safety pins for hangers - one on each of the top corners - with the little circle part of the safety pin at the top - and staight pins in the wall to hang the safety pins on - it stays in place pretty well unless there is some rough housing going on and someone bumps into it - lol

I use the white cafe curtain rings sewn at even spaces on the back of the quilt and then use the push pins that have a "head" to hang the quilt. If you put the rings just below the top of the quilt they hang straight and no big holes in the wall. the rings won't show that way.