Ideas for hanging a quilt??

WinstonsGirl

So, we were given a beautiful quilt for our wedding.  It's tones of blue and grey which matches our house colours.  We don't use quilts, so we were thinking of hanging in at the top of our stairs.  Does anyone have any ideas on how I can make it look nicer?

My SIL suggested "framing" it with MDF baseboards/crown moulding, and painting a different colour behind, but I can't picture it looking good in my mind.  Maybe I'm just not sure of colours to contrast and having the quilt further out from the wall potentially than the frame isn't working for me.  

I don't have pinterest and I haven't found anything other than just the quilt being hung on the Google.  We're pretty modern in our house, and tile the quilt isn't old school, it's still a quilt.  Any crafty/designy people out there have any ideas??  I'll try to post pictures in a minute.  

WinstonsGirl

Picture here, also with our paint colors in the background. Some of the smaller rectangles are similar to our paint colors on the wall

MairePoppy

If you want to hang it on the wall, you should sew a 1 1/2 inch muslin sleeve along the top, back of the quilt. Thread a dowel or curtain rod through it so it will hang smoothly. You'll be able to take it down to wash it when in gets dusty.

Or, display the quilt on a quilt rack. Easy and you can move it anywhere. You can still use the quilt or shake it out once in awhile.

http://blog.shopmartingale.com/quilting-sewing/how-do-you-hang-a-quilt-on-the-wall-change-author/

lyndausvi

This is what we used.   They are clamps you hang up.   We have them ever 12 inches or so. We got ours at a local quilt and fabric store.  You can find them on Amazon.     

[Deleted User]

What about something like this? This isn't really modern (although you probably could make it look less vintage/rustic with a different paint job on the ladder).

I'm with you, think it could be hard to find a way to fit it in to more modern design

Or maybe a display cabinet?

WinstonsGirl

Thanks ladies.  I'm okay with the hanging itself.  I'm looking for ideas to "frame" it, or possibly add to it so it's not just the quilt on the wall, if that makes sense.  

ohannabelle

MairePoppy said:

If you want to hang it on the wall, you should sew a 1 1/2 inch muslin sleeve along the top, back of the quilt. Thread a dowel or curtain rod through it so it will hang smoothly. You'll be able to take it down to wash it when in gets dusty.

Or, display the quilt on a quilt rack. Easy and you can move it anywhere. You can still use the quilt or shake it out once in awhile.

http://blog.shopmartingale.com/quilting-sewing/how-do-you-hang-a-quilt-on-the-wall-change-author/

This is exactly what I'd do, but if you don't want to sew on the quilt, you can secure the strip using two rows of straight pins, secured through the back and batting but not visible from the front.

anjemon

Your quilt doesn't look too big, would something like this work?

Otherwise I really like the display cabinet idea posted above or doing something like this:

WinstonsGirl

That first photo is kind of what I was thinking.  Do you know how it was done??  It looks like MDF maybe??

madamerwin

I guess it depends on the quilt design as to whether you need to "frame" it. We always had 2-3 quilts hanging on walls in my house growing up, and they were just hung normally, no framing. BUT they all have solid borders that kind of frame the design themselves, so they would have looked odd with additional framing.

Maybe paint the wall behind a complementary color?

WinstonsGirl

tfmrserwin said:

I guess it depends on the quilt design as to whether you need to "frame" it. We always had 2-3 quilts hanging on walls in my house growing up, and they were just hung normally, no framing. BUT they all have solid borders that kind of frame the design themselves, so they would have looked odd with additional framing.

Maybe paint the wall behind a complementary color?

I would like to paint the wall behind, but it's pretty big (landing in a open stairwell), so I couldn't reach the top well anyway.  That was partially the idea behind the fake frame.  But which colour to do would be a whole other post.

anjemon

WinstonsGirl said:

That first photo is kind of what I was thinking.  Do you know how it was done??  It looks like MDF maybe??

Maybe? I think it looks like they just purchased a frame in the size they needed. But if you can't find one in your size that would probably work to make one.

Chipmunk415

My mom's a quilter and has made us several wallhangings. Some have sleeves, others we use blocks with marbles in them, but we're getting sleeves on them because of what we feel are weight and tension issues.

Racks are good for displaying quilts and encouraging people to make more for you (kidding! Sorta.)

Absolute worst thing you can do for a quilt is fold it up and shove it in a bag, cabinet, or closet. it prevents the fabric from breathing and the tension at the folds will eventually cause the fabric and/or stitching to tear, especially since a lot of times, folks do that and forget the quilt is folded up somewhere. mom cried when she found a quilt she'd made for her dad folded up in a closet by her stepmother. There were 5 big tears in the fabric.

hellosweetie1015

This is what I would do. I don't think it's the exact thing you're looking for, but it's what I'd do.

- Buy some crown moulding to frame it out with. 

- Buy some of those square dowel things to use as a shim against the back of the two sides and the bottom.

- Buy some of the clips @lyndausvi suggested and put on the back of the top.

- Paint all four sides, including the shims, to match / complement / whatever your overall decor scheme and the quilt's scheme.

- Secure the three shimmed sides to the wall permanently.

- Clip the quilt to the top and secure it to the wall in a less permanent method (for easy cleaning removal)

- Tuck the quilt into the sides. Maybe have a couple of smaller clips to hold the bottom corners in place to prevent flappage.

I cannot find a thing exactly like that on the Google, but it would end up looking like the thing @anjemon posted, but not behind glass and easily accessed for cleaning and use (because I'd use the heck out of a handmade quilt. I love them).