Question for my readers

[baronessekat]

Is anyone aware of a safe way to hang an antique quilt on a wall to display it WITHOUT causing damage?

I have inherited several antique quilts (close to 200 years old) that I would like to display on a rod or the like behind headboards in the bedrooms. But I can't think of a way to do so without causing damage.

I went to JoAnn's yesterday and I was told that the way to hang a quilt was to sew a rod pocket onto it for the curtain rod to slide through. I pointed out that wouldn't this cause damage to the fragile fabric and got "oh."

So I bring the question to my friends here.

Anyone got a clue?

Comments

[patrikia.livejournal.com]

If you don't want to hang them, consider two options.

1) Put them onto a bed, say, in a spare room.

2) Display them on a quilt rack. Some nice woodworker could probably bang one out for you in no time! (Do you know what I mean? Wooden racks that have two parrallel bars, a few inches apart? The quilt hangs over it?)

In the same vein, if you want to display them on a wall, put up a rod, hang the quilt over the rod and have only 1/2 or 2/3 showing. This would probably depend on the state of the quilt itself. Also consider that it might stabilize the quilt to have an additional muslin backing put onto it, with the channel for a rod for hanging.

There is a lady in the East Kingdom who is a laurel for quilting. I can shoot her a message and ask her opinion or have you contact her directly, if you like.

[baronessekat.livejournal.com]

The quilts are in remarkably good shape. Only a little bit of deterioration along a couple seams due to age and having actually been used as intented (the oldest of the quilts still has the muslin "beard guard" sewn over the one end).

I am leaning towards installing big decorative curtain rods and doing the laying the quilt over the rods way of displaying.

I know mom had at one point taken the quilts to the amherst colonial museum for appraisal. Maybe I can find time to go there on a Saturday and ask how to display them. Or call the Buffalo Historical Society.

But if you are willing, I would appreciate it if you can contact the EK laural and ask her advice.