DISPLAYING YOUR ANTIQUE QUILT

Many quilt owners want to display their antique quilts. This is a wonderful way to enjoy quilts, but it must be done safely so the quilt is not damaged or exposed to a harmful environment.

Hanging an antique quilt is NEVER a good idea.

The weight of the quilt will break threads and fabric fibers, and it places undue stress
on threads and stitches.

Antique quilts should be displayed as flat and undisturbed as possible.
I know this sounds like a museum display. It can be difficult to follow the preferred
storage methods in a home where storage space is limited.
Here are some ways to do this that are “Home Friendly”.

GUEST BED METHOD (my preferred method)

• Spread quilts out on a guest bed in a seldom-used room. This is ideal, because it allows previous fold lines and creases to relax. Some collectors stack their quilts and tops this way with a clean cotton sheet between each one. When you want to move a quilt, you can grasp the sheet and lift (this takes two people, one on each side), which eliminates crumpling hand-holds or handling the quilt itself. Every time an antique quilt is folded, unfolded, or handled in any way it is an opportunity for damage to occur.
• If the guest bed method of storage and display is used, the room should have very little light. This will reduce the chance of fading.
• Keep pets out of the room.

CUPBOARD/SHELF METHOD

• Pie safes and antique cupboards are popular places for storing/displaying folded quilts. If they have doors that can be closed most of the time, that’s great; it will shut out light and dust. While this is not the ideal way to store quilts, you can adapt it with a few modifications.
• Remember the No Light/Low Light rules. Try to locate the shelves so that the quilts will not be exposed to light. A dark corner or shadowy area of a room is good.
• Cover any part of the wood that will come in contact with the quilts with a layer of aluminum foil. This creates an inert barrier between the acidic wood and the textile, and will help prevent the brown spotting caused by wood. The foil won’t show once your quilts are in place.
• Fold each quilt using rolls of acid free tissue in the creases, just as if you were folding for storage. Place a layer of acid free tissue between each quilt.
• Stack quilts loosely, no more than 2 or 3 high to avoid compressing the folds. Don’t pack them tightly into a shelf space.
• Refold and rotate the quilts every 2 or 3 months.
• If you keep the doors closed on a cupboard, cover the quilts inside with a layer of foil to keep the inside of the doors from touching them.
• Use acid free tissue anyplace you feel like it is needed. I like to use it between every layer of folded quilts, especially those that have antique dyes that may migrate or rub off.

DRAPING METHOD

• NEVER drape an antique quilt, for the same reasons that you never hang one. An additional reason is that draping causes twisting of a quilt, which increases stress on fibers and stitches.
• I have seen many quilts that have been draped over a chair or bookcase, and they have always been stretched from twisting or corners poking so that they no longer lie flat. Once stretched, they will not go back. There is no way to restore a twisted quilt to make it flat again.

FOR NEW QUILTS ONLY

Quilt Hangers and Hanging Systems

Several types of quilt hangers are on the market. Obviously art quilts and wall quilts are made especially to be hung. Usually the artist has incorporated strength into a hanging system as part of the quilt’s construction.

If you have a quilt that you would like to hang, my review of some popular systems follows. These are my personal opinions, with no intention of discrediting or recommending any particular system. They are based on observations made on quilts I’ve seen over the years.

• An invisible quilt hanging system uses a hanging sleeve on the back of the quilt with the system’s flat metal rod through the sleeve. A special clip, stuck to the wall with adhesive, holds the metal rod. The clip pokes the sleeve fabric into the groove in the rod where the clip is. This is not a method I would ever use on a quilt. It eventually makes holes in the sleeve.
• Another type of quilt hanger uses two wooden pieces about 3 inches wide which separate for the edge of the quilt to slip between. A screw is then tightened to hold the wooden pieces firmly together, so they pinch the edge of the quilt. A series of these wooden hangers is used across the top of the quilt, perhaps 6 or 8 for a large quilt. This type of hanger does not distribute the weight of the quilt evenly, and after hanging a while a quilt will develop stretched “points” where the edge was clamped into the wooden devices and sunken areas between where the weight of the quilt pulled it into droops.
• A similar type of wooden quilt hanger used in multiples across the top edge of a quilt uses a roller ball to hold the quilt. Once the device is mounted on the wall, the edge of the quilt is pushed up between layers of wood where a roller ball grips the quilt as its weight pulls it downward. This also places undue stress on certain points along the edge of the quilt, and will stretch it out of shape. It depends on the weight of the quilt to clamp it into place, which seems intrinsically wrong to me in the first place.

Wood contains acids that cause brown spots on fabrics and hasten disintegration. It is best to not use wood next to fabric. If you opt for a wooden quilt rack or even a quilt folded on a wooden shelf or table, it is advisable to cover the area where the quilt will contact the wood with aluminum foil. This places an inert barrier between the fabric and the wood acid.

• Another type of quilt hanging device uses soft foam inside hinged wooden clamping boards and a cord to pull it tight. The boards extend the entire length of the quilt. Plastics, including foam, emit toxic chemicals that are known to be harmful to textiles. Some plastics cause fibers to disintegrate, and some can react with fabric dyes. This is called a SOFTouch quilt hanger, and the system gives even support across the quilt. If the edge of the quilt is covered with a protective layer of foil so it is not in contact with the foam, the system is safer than others. However, a sleeve is still the preferred method.

PREFERRED QUILT HANGING METHOD

A Permanently Sewn-in Quilt Hanging Sleeve

The accepted quilt hanging method for modern quilts at quilt shows and museums is a hanging sleeve along the top of the back of the quilt. A long rod is slipped through the sleeve, and the ends of the rod are supported to hang the quilt. The weight of the quilt is evenly distributed along the entire width of the top edge by using this method. There is less likelihood that the quilt will stretch out of shape.

A quilt should be displayed by hanging for about 3 to 4 months, and then it should be taken down, dusted and stored properly while another quilt takes its place. Rotating your quilts allows them to “rest” between displays, and it offers you the opportunity to regularly inspect for damage.

HOW TO MAKE A QUILT HANGING SLEEVE Free instructions to download.

Other Permanently Sewn-in Methods

• Velcro quilt hanging methods use wide Velcro strips, one mounted on a wooden rail the width of the quilt, and the other on a strip of fabric which is then sewn to the back of the quilt. The wooden rail is affixed to the wall, and the quilt is then Velcroed into place. I do not recommend this method, because Velcro is plastic. It is also very abrasive, and if a quilt slips it could pull the Velcro against the fabric. It might work for small, lightweight quilts, but it is not strong enough to use for larger pieces.
• Tab-type quilt hangers are made by sewing small fabric tubes along the top of the quilt and running a rod through the tabs. This method does not offer evenly distributed support across the quilt and it creates stretch points, so I do not recommend it.
• Some quilters attach a sleeve to the back of their quilt and include it under the binding, making it part of the quilt. This can put stress on the binding stitches, and if the sleeve needs to be replaced for some reason, the binding will need to be removed to do so.