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

[tacut.livejournal.com]

There are a few ways I use. I mostly have silk bedspreads but the method works for anything.

I display just over half the quilt/bedspread at a time, rotate them so you get a more even fading/damage over time. By hanging them showing just over half at a time, I never have the crease in the same place.

What I do is grab a long wooden 1x2, paint it the same colour as the room walls, attach the 1x2 about 1-1 and 1/2 inches down from the ceiling, for a quilt, use a spacer that is just another of the 1x2 chunks at the end. Use LONG screws to go through both layers of 1x2, and into the wall. If it works with spacing, try to get at least one side into a stud, if no stud, use wall anchors. Now you have a bar that is the same colour as your wall to hang your quilt.

I know, you will say "But why not just use a curtain rod?" Good question, you can just use a curtain rod, but a 1x2 has several advantages:

It is thicker than a curtain rod and will not crease the quilts as easy or as sharp, preserving the quilt better. Sanding the top edges a bit rounder is easy to do and helps even more with this.

You can paint it to match the wall and it will not detract from your quilt, and will not clash if you hang a different quilt up

Stronger, it is stronger, period

Anyway, that is how I do it, lets you rotate things easy, display only half at a time to elements to let them last a bit longer and preserve them. The other advantage this method has is that it will not hang to close to the floor. The closer to the floor, the dirtier they will get...fact. Less accidental touching, paw prints, hooking on chairs/furniture, etc.

Any way you decide to go, it is really nice, and warms a room a lot to have tapestry style, cloth hangings.