If your quilt is ever going to hang in a show with pipe-and-drape construction, then your quilt needs a proper sleeve. This sleeve needs to be a 4″ tube, finished on both ends, roomy enough for the show pipes, and sturdy enough to hold up under the wear and tear of quilt show life. Here’s how to make it.
1. Cut the Fabric
From a sturdy woven fabric, cut a strip 10” wide by the one inch less than the width of your finished quilt. If your quilt is 18” wide, then you would cut a 10” x 17” strip of fabric.
2. Finish the Ends
Hem the 10” ends of the unsewn sleeve by turning under ¼” hem, pressing, turning under another ¼” hem, and pressing again. Then, stitch in place. This covers the raw edges and creates a strong end for the sleeve. In case you care about thread color, this is the stitching that will show on your sleeve. Choose accordingly. The contrasting thread in the picture is for you, dear reader.
3. Construct the Tube
Fold the strip WRONG sides together so that the hems are at each end and the tube is now 5” wide. I press at this stage to make things easier. Stitch along the raw edge side, taking a ½” seam allowance. Then, BASTE along the fold ½” from the edge. Yes, it sounds weird, but it’s important to do this.
4. Finish the Sleeve
Press the sleeve so that the seam (raw edges) and the basting (folded edge) are nested together, one on top and one against the ironing board. I flip the seam allowance in one direction and the folded edge in the other direction. The task becomes more challenging for longer sleeves.
5. Attach the Sleeve to the Quilt Back
Pin the sleeve to the back of your quilt, centered left to right, about 1” below the top of the quilt. The raw edges should be toward the quilt and the basted fold should be away from the quilt. Do not take the shortcut of stitching the sleeve into the binding. Yes, it will save you time – unless you actually want to use the sleeve without it showing from the front. Resist the temptation.
Now, hand stitch around all four sides of the sleeve, including the ends where the sleeve is open. If you don’t, the people who hang your quilt are likely to slip the pole between the sleeve and your quilt instead of inside the sleeve, leaving potential yucky residue on your artwork. When you stitch, try to catch the sleeve and the quilt backing only. If you go all the way through, your stitches will show on the front. If you catch too much batting, the quilt front could dimple a bit.
6. Finish the Sleeve
Now, rip out the basting that you stitched ½” away from the fold. This makes the outside of the sleeve a little longer than the side that’s against the quilt back, creating ease to go around the pole. If you don’t create this ease, the top of your quilt can appear rounded when the pole is in the sleeve. If you’ve seen this effect, you know why you want to avoid it.
Bonus Tip!
If you’ve decided not to bind the quilt, but use an escape hatch (or knife edge, pillow case construction, stitch and flip – whatever you want to call it) instead, cut the opening you use to “birth” or turn the quilt where the sleeve will go. The sleeve will cover the opening and your secret will be hidden. Laura Wasilowski calls this the trapdoor or encasement binding technique; check it out in her book Fusing Fun! Fast Fearless Art Quilts. Or click here to read Melody Johnson’s explanation of the escape hatch technique. I learned it from her at QSDS…but that’s a story for another post.
[…] sewn to the quilt on all four sides with a 1” margin at the top and on each end. Cyndi has posted thorough instructions on her blog, if you need […]
Question: Do you recommend this method of attaching a sleeve over attaching it to the upper seam? Just wondered if there were advantages to this method.
Sharon, I’m not 100% sure of your question, and so I’ll give you two answers.
If you mean do I like this method better than catching the sleeve in the binding seam across the top of the quilt, then yes, absolutely. I strongly believe that the sleeve you attach should work in a variety of situations. If you attach the sleeve in the binding seam, that will usually be fine for shows where the poles are thick. However, if your quilt is hung on skinny poles (some shows use very thin poles) or flat slats (in galleries, for example), the sleeve will show above the top of the quilt. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve had to use straight pins to adjust the sleeve to prevent it from showing above the quilt. When I’m hanging a show, it’s my job to make your quilts look fabulous. I appreciate it when the quilters make their quilts easy to hang.
The other way I could read your question is about where the seam of the sleeve is placed when the sleeve is attached to the back of the quilt. I don’t like the sleeve seam lined up at the top of the sleeve for a couple of reasons. First, if the seam is hidden against the quilt back, then it looks nicer. Second, if the seam is where you are hand-sewing the sleeve to the quilt back, your stitching will be more difficult through more layers. Last, the seam allowance at the top of the sleeve could prevent the quilt sleeve from hanging smoothly from a skinny pole/rod or a flat slat. These may seem like minor considerations, but I think they are worth considering.
Thanks for reading my blog and for your comments!
Thanks, Cyndi, your reply was much appreciated and gave me a reason “why” one method is better than the other. Your photos, too, helped me to understand the process. Again, thank you very much. Happy quilting.
[…] and sticks at both top and bottom. 3. For a good description of how to make a hanging sleeve, go to https://moonlightingquilts.wordpress.com/2012/04/05/in-defense-of-the-proper-quilt-sleeve-and-how-to-…. Make the sleeves at least 4 inches narrower than the width of your quilt. 4. Purchase the sticks […]
Great blog! I was asked to provide a copy of quilt sleeve instructions for some fellow quilt guild members. My go-to copy was lost to a crashed computer. I Googled some choice words, and amused my office-mate with grumbling about people who do quilt sleeves WRONG. And then found your perfect and aptly titled blog.
Thanks for your feedback. I so hate it when the computer eats my data and I need to look elsewhere or recreate it. I’m glad I had the information you needed! Happy quilting!
Based on Donna’s recommendation as part of the Elvis project….I made this today. I wanted to share with you something I tried with my last sleeve …I used a blind hem foot and stitch on my machine and actually machine stitched the sleeve to the back of the quilt. Just catch the occasional stitch in the backing only. I could not believe it…Seemed to work fantastic and so quick!! wdyt?
Marlene, I’m trying to visualize this. Wouldn’t you still see the bobbin thread on the front of the quilt?