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Fantastic Finish – Labels, Journaling and Display

The quilt is quilted and bound. Now what? Do not forget to label it and find a way to display it, if it is a wall hanging. Journaling is something that helps with documenting the quilt also. You can only put so much on a label! I have some tips in this post on labeling & journaling and creating hanging sleeves. I also have some interesting display suggestions. Let’s get started!

Labels & Journaling

I consider the labeling of your quilt as essential. If you flip through books of antique quilts, you will often see the phrase “quiltmaker unknown”. The historians have no idea who the quilt was made for or for what occasion it was made. They can only guess. If you don’t want to keep future generations of your family guessing, a label is part of the solution.

I wish I had labeled more of my quilts as I went. I’ve been creating quilts for over 30 years and some of my earlier ones remain unlabeled. I am working my way through the stack and making sure there’s a label for each. I have labeled all the quilts I have made and given away to family and friends as I know most of you probably do. You put in the extra effort there, why not do it for the quilts you keep and intend to pass on to family?

Here’s a few examples of labels I have made. When my kids graduated high school, I made each of them a quilt. Here are the labels:

I used the printable fabric that can be found at quilt shops. I designed the label on my computer, adding information about their high school activities, etc. and then printed it out on the fabric label. You can make it as big or small as you like.

I also put a blank fabric piece on the table at daughter’s graduation for her friends to sign and I stitched that to the back of her quilt.

I attached these labels after the quilt was bound. But if you want to make them more secure, you can embed two sides of the label into the binding itself.

I started by pinning the label to the back of the quilt, lined up with the edges. As I stitched the binding down on the front, the label was then secured on 2 sides. Then after stitching the binding on the back, I stitched the other 2 side of the label to the backing.

You can also write on the back of your quilt with a fabric safe, permanent pen. This works well mostly for quilts with plain, lighter backing fabric.

The labels act as a journal, sort of. Of course the amount of information you can include on a label is limited. If you want to keep more information on your quilts, consider a quilt journal. This can be done with any notebook!

In this journal, you can put a photo of the finished quilt and also note fabrics used, size of the quilt and even your inspiration! You can even affix scraps of the fabric you used for the quilt.

Hanging Sleeves and Display

I like to hang a lot of my wall hangings around the house. Sometimes I use quilt hangers specifically meant for quilts and sometimes I use other items like curtain rods and yard sticks. Here’s some of my quilts displayed:

To display your quilts this way, you will need a hanging sleeve (sometimes called a rod pocket) on the back of your quilt:

First you cut a strip of fabric approximately 2 1/2″ wide. I cut the strip about 2 inches shorter than the width of my quilt. For example, if my wall hanging is 24″ wide, I cut the strip  2 1/2 x 22″. To prevent the sleeve from fraying, I fold in about 1/4″ on each end and stitch.

Now the sleeve can be attached to the back of the quilt. Like the label, I will line up the sleeve with the top edge of the quilt and attach it when the binding is stitched on the front. Then I only have the bottom of the sleeve to turn under and stitch down.

Now you are ready to slip in a curtain rod, yard stick or any other item that can hang the quilt.

Just for fun, here’s a few other display ideas:

For the quilt on the left, I slid a small dowel hanger through the sleeve and then hung it inside an old drawer turned on end to make a shadow box. For the quilt on the right, I used an old clip board and just clipped a mini quilt to it!

So I hope I have inspired you to label your quilts and journal about them. Also maybe you found some new display ideas as well. Leave a comment or ask questions below and you will be entered into a drawing for my pattern, Delightful Seasons!

This pattern includes the cute winter panel I have clipped to the clipboard above. The drawing will be on Monday, June 20th.

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

Tips for Displaying and Storing Quilts

So, you make quilts of all sizes. Most of them you give away to family members, cherished friends or to charity organizations. But what about the ones you keep? How do you display those? How do you store the ones that you don’t have on display? This week I will talk about displaying your quilts, including some unique display ideas and tips on how to store the quilts you are not displaying. So let’s get started!

Quilt Display

The easiest quilts to display are large quilts, like lap quilts. Besides a quilt rack, you can drape them at the end of a bed or over the back of a couch and you’re done, right? But, here are a few other ideas that I have used. One of my favorite is hanging the quilts from a ladder, whether it’s an old one or one made for that purpose.

This ladder has only one quilt on it, but I could probably fold it differently and add a few more quilts.

Here’s another ladder that I hung from my wall to display some of my antique quilts. The ladder is old so I sealed it and there are pillow cases under the folded quilts to protect them even more from the wood.

Since these are antique quilts, I have the ladder hanging in a hallway where they are protected from direct sunlight. Be sure to think of that when you are displaying any treasured quilt. Direct sunlight is not their friend! 

I’ve also been know to drape large quilts over chairs or hanging out of baskets.

Finally for larger quilts, I found an old drying rack (left) at a garage sale that is perfect for quilts. Just like with the old ladder, make sure to seal the wood and drape a pillow case or a sheet discreetly underneath to protect the quilt further. I also found a unique towel rack (right) at a garage sale that I hung on a wall to drape a quilt.

Now on to smaller quilts like wall hangings. From large to small, there are so many fun ways to display these around your house. An easy way to hang wall hangings is using curtain rods. A lot of the curtain rods you find in stores like Target or Wal-Mart are also adjustable size, so it’s easy to find the right fit for your quilt.

First, here’s a mini tutorial on hanging sleeves that your wall hanging will need for you to hang it. An easy way to put a sleeve on a quilt is to do it at the same time as when you attach the binding like I did on this quilt below:

First, I cut a strip of fabric 2 1/2″ wide with the length 2″ shorter than the width of the wall hanging. This quilt is 24″ wide, so I cut the strip 2 1/2 x 22″.

Next, hem the short ends of the strip.

Now, lay the strip on the back of the quilted item aligning it with the edge and pin in place. So, when you attach the binding to the front, the top of the sleeve will be attached. Then, you turn under the bottom edge of the strip and pin in place so you can hand stitch this while hand stitching your binding to the back (last photo).

Now that you have the hanging sleeve on your quilt, here’s some of the fun ways to hang them. First, by a curtain rod:

You can also use the hanging sleeve to hang the quilt from quilt hangers, yard sticks and even dowels affixed to an old drawer!

Caring for and Storing Quilts

Here are some tips to keep displayed quilts in good shape.

  • Display them out of direct sunlight to prevent fading
  • If the quilt is folded or rolled for the display, unfold or unroll them periodically and refold them another way. This will prevent creasing the quilts in one place.
  • Use a soft brush attachment on your vacuum to carefully brush off dust, etc. from the surface of a quilt hung on a wall. Be sure to use the lowest suction setting to keep from damaging fibers and seams.
  • Rotate quilts you have displayed so quilts that are precious to you are not exposed to the everyday household elements all the time.

That last item in the tips, rotating out quilts you display, gives arise to the need for storage. For large quilts, you need to start with folding them. Here’s a few tips.

Begin by laying out the quilt you want to fold on a large flat surface and make the first fold on the bias:

And then continue bias folds until you have a square:

Folding on the bias puts less stress on the fabric fibers so any creases that happen while it’s folded this way will smooth out easier. Straight folds create heavier creases that could be permanent if the quilt is folded for too long.

The other way I fold quilts is in thirds. The following photos will show how that is done.

Some dos and don’ts for Storing:

  • Do not store them in the basement or attic of your home where the temperature and humidity is not at ideal levels.
  • Do not stack too many folded quilts on top of one another.
  • Do not store quilts in plastic containers or bags. Plastic can trap moisture which could develop mold that will stain quilts.
  • Do use clean white sheets to cover a stack of quilts for protection.

Now what you you do with the smaller quilts like wall hangings and table runners? For these quilts I use clip hangers that are made to hang skirts and pants. This makes them storable in a closet anywhere in the house.

A final tip: It’s a good idea if a large quilt has been stored for over 4 to 6 months to pull it out and re-fold it or take it out to display. They important thing is to keep checking on your stored quilts to make sure they are holding up.

So that’s all for this week. Share your display and storage tips for all of us to learn from and you will be entered into a drawing for my new pattern, Kaleidoscope:

The drawing will be on Monday, November 22nd. Good luck!

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

Displaying and Storing Your Quilts – Here’s Some Tips!

I like to display quilt on tables, walls, over furniture… you get the drift! I like to display them everywhere in my  house. From big to small, there are some unique ways to display them. When they are not in use, you also need to have a good storage plan. If you are like me, you have seasonal wall hangings and other quilted items in your collection that you do not display year round. 

Making a Hanging Sleeve

First you need to plan if your quilt will need a sleeve on the back. This step is of course for wall hangings or bigger quilts you may want to display on a wall space. An easy way to put a sleeve on a quilt is to do it at the same time as when you attach the binding like I did on this quilt below:

First, I cut a strip of fabric 2 1/2″ wide and 2″ shorter than the width of the wall hanging. This quilt is 24″ wide, so I cut the strip 2 1/2 x 22″.

Next, hem the short ends of the strip.

Now, lay the strip on the back of the quilted item aligning it with the edge and pin in place. So, when you attach the binding to the front, the top of the sleeve will be attached.

Finally, you turn under the bottom edge of the strip and pin in place so you can hand stitch this while hand stitching your binding to the back.

How to Hang that Quilt

My favorite way to hang a quilt once I have the sleeve on the back is to use a curtain rod. I pick up the cafe style rods from a store like Target. They come in many different lengths and thicknesses.

If I am hanging the quilt on a wall where I think I will always display a quilt, I use the brackets that come with the rod so there is a way to mount the quilt.

Here’s a few of my quilts hung this way:

Try to hang the quilts where they will not be in direct sunlight. Another good reason to change your display periodically is to protect a quilt from exposure all year round. 

Here are some other display ideas for quilt, big and small. Clipped to an old clipboard, on a dowel inside an old drawer, draped over a chair or ladder… the possibilities are endless!

For quilts that are folded on beds, over ladders, chairs or racks, periodically open them up and refold them in a different way so they don’t develop permanent creases.

Storing the Quilt

So, when you’re not displaying the quilt, how do you store it? I like to fold my quilts and store them wrapped in white sheets to protect them. Here’s a how I fold them:

For a step by step folding instructions, you can read my blog post from last year: My Tips for Storing Quilts.

Here’s some do’s and don’ts from that blog:

Do not store them in the basement or attic of your home where the temperature and humidity is not at ideal levels.

Do not stack too many folded quilts on top of one another.

Do not store quilts in plastic containers or bags. Plastic can trap moisture which could develop mold that will stain quilts.

Do use clean white sheets to cover a stack of quilts for protection.

Two other ways to store quilts is to roll them or to drape them over extra beds. Rolling large quilts may be difficult for storage since there would need to be a large space to store those rolls. But rolling them is a good way to avoid any creases from folding, so if you have the storage space, consider doing this.

For smaller quilts like table runners and wall hangings, I use clip hangers meant for skirts and pants and I hang them in a closet.

So now you know my tips for displaying and storing my quilts. Do you have any you’d like to share? Comment below to be entered into a drawing for my newest quilt pattern: Season of Joy!

Drawing will be on Monday, February 10th.

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

How to Display Quilts Around the House – Be Creative!

Hi everyone!

I was thinking about what to talk about in my weekly blog post when I thought about how I display quilts around my house. I decided it would be fun to show you what I do with mine. Maybe it will give you some ideas. Some are folded over chairs, some displayed with antiques while others are folded across the end of a bed. However you choose to display quilts, they make a beautiful addition to your decor.

First, there’s the general across the bed display that we all do:

Pretty …. but everyone does this! So you can kick it up a notch by draping a quilt over a chair or banister like the two below.

If you are a regular reader of my blog posts, you know I love to combine my quilts and antiques. These old family quilts below are displayed on a ladder (wood sealed so they will not be damaged). I put brackets on the wall, hung the ladder from the brackets and then hung the quilts. Easy!

Next up are three other displays in my house.

I found and old box that legs were added to. I love to collect old boxes so this one jumped out at me when I went “junking”. I rolled the quilts and set them inside the box for a fun display.

To display a mini wall hanging, I took an old drawer, drilled holes in the sides to feed a dowel through and hung the small quilt on the dowel. It makes a really cute decoration.

Finally, I found an old drying rack and a wood towel bar when I was hunting through an antique shop. The drying rack leaning against a wall  makes a perfect place to drape a few quilts.

And the towel rack on the wall is another fun way to display a quilt!

I also like hanging the quilts on the wall. I use quilt hangers made for wall hangings. But if I do not have a hanger that fits a quilt, I also like to use curtain rods. All you need is a sleeve stitched to the back of the quilt and you’re all set!

Some tips to keep these quilts in good shape.

  • Display them out of direct sunlight to prevent fading
  • If the quilt is folded or rolled for the display, unfold or unroll them periodically and refold them another way. This will prevent creasing the quilts in one place.
  • Use a soft brush attachment on your vacuum to carefully brush off dust, etc from the surface of a quilt hung on a wall. Be sure to use the lowest suction setting to keep from damaging fibers and seams.
  • Rotate quilts you have displayed so quilts that are precious to you are not exposed to the everyday household elements all the time.

I’d love to hear how you display your quilts. Also, if you have any tips for the care of your quilts on display feel free to share that too! Comment below and be entered to win a copy of the latest Primitive Quilts & Projects magazine that has one of my patterns in it!

I will choose a winner and announce it in next week’s blog post! **Winner chosen! Congrats, Dawna!**

Happy Quilting
Deanne