If you want to hang your quilts, having a sleeve makes it easy and also protects your quilt. A D-sleeve is the standard sleeve for hanging. The "D" shape allows the quilt to hang flat and provides "give" in the sleeve. When I made the sleeve for the Bridges quilt I remembered to take a few pictures so I thought I'd share. Please forgive the lighting in the photos. It was a gray Chicago day!
This is how I make mine.
This tutorial makes a 4" finished D sleeve.
Start by measuring the width of your quilt.
Cut a strip 8 1/2" wide by the exact width measurement of your quilt. Depending on the width of your quilt, you may have to piece multiple strips to achieve that measurement.
Hem each side of the sleeve by turning the edge 1/4" and then another 1/4". Press and pin. Sew close to the folded edge.
Fold the strip in half lengthwise
wrong sides together and press to create a center fold.
Open the strip and fold each edge in to meet at the center fold.
Press so that the folds on each edge are well defined. You'll need those fold lines later.
Match the raw edges again
wrong sides together and pin the length of the sleeve. Sew using a 1/4" seam. (Sewing wrong side together allows you to place the seam under the sleeve rather than inside it.)
Place your sleeve so that the seam is centered facing up. One of the folded edges will lay flat. The other will not. Press the seam open. Be sure not to press down the opposite edge. (You will need that fold that you created later.)
Place the sleeve seam side down with the two folds you created earlier flat on your surface. Notice how the D-shape is formed. This is how the sleeve will be placed on your quilt.
Position the sleeve 1/2" to 3/4" below the top of your quilt. Pin along both folds making sure to maintain the D-shape. Hand stitch along the top and bottom edges of the sleeve. Be sure not to stitch into the front of the quilt.
Slide in a rod and hang!
Great tutorial! Love that number fabric - it reminds me that I have some of that around somewhere :) Must decide how to use it.
ReplyDeletethank you so much for this!! the D sleeve has always given me trouble- i'm a need-pictures type of girl!
ReplyDeleteperfect timing! I have to put a hanging sleeve on my Bletchley Park Quilt for an exhibition ... I'm going to take my crappy one off and replace with this D affair ... thank you :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tutorial! Your photos make the process easy to follow.
ReplyDeleteyep, that's what I do....and when I'm in a real hurry I stitch it into the binding 'ditch' by machine too. But tell us the next bit ... show us how you hang them, pretty please!... what rod? how is the rod attached to the wall? that's the bit I keep experimenting with but haven't found a perfect solution.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tutorial! I've always been confused about what comes next, though - how do I use a rod to make it go onto the wall?
ReplyDeletevery nice tutorial, thanks for the info!
ReplyDeleteExcellent! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteGreat method and wonderful tutorial. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGreat tutorial. I made the same way, depending of the width sew one or two tunnels :)
ReplyDeletewhen i worked in a quilt store we use to just pin the sleeve on the back and hang it with the pins. it just made it easier to get them up quickly without waiting to hand sew the sleeve on and then we were able to reuse the sleeve on the next quilt that we would have to hang.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! Off to make a sleeve now!
ReplyDeleteThank you!! I never needed a sleeve before last night and I was so happy to find your tutorial. Worked like a champ! : )
ReplyDeleteThanks for this great tutorial! This is what I'll be working on this weekend, and you've made it so much easier!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this tutorial. I have been using it today.
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great tutortial! It's very clear and easy to follow. You know a lot of us will be using it this weekend as we get our quilts ready to ship off to QuiltCon :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your wonderful tutorial. I've used it on a four quilts now and they hang better than any I'd done previously!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this tutorial- it helped me tremendously. Great pictures!
ReplyDeletePictures help so much. I added a sewn seam on the edges to make sure I kept my D shape before I pined it to the quilt. Thank you for your tutorial! Now my quilt is ready to go hang in a art exhibition.
ReplyDeleteThank-you for an easy to do tutorial! Saw a video but they never said where to sew it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, this is so wonderful.
ReplyDeleteHow do you hand sew? What stitch?