Monday, April 28, 2008

Quilt hanging methods

Apart from the effects of the demolition derby and the painful sight of our dated decoration the main reason for redecorating the hall is to answer that perpetual question "So what are you going to do with that quilt?" I don't actually think I have to do anything with it - process is as good as product and all that. But actually, whilst I have no problem hording cupboards of lap- and -upwards sized quilts and rotating which ones I watch TV under, I am inhibited from making smaller ones because they will never see the light of day. So, the plan is to turn our hall/ stairs/ landing into a gallery where I can rotate my own wall quilts.


And so to Google for ideas. I want to be able to rotate quilts of different colours so will go for a neutral wall space. However, the quilts are likely to differ in size and as they are not made yet(!) I can't plan what so going where. So, how shall I plan to hang them? Particularly on this wall, which is high and needs somthing pre-installed that I can either reach without a stepladder or which can be pulled up and down easily. (It is the bathroom wall which overhangs the whole stair well.)




I could put up fixed poles and make quilts sized to the space. That will work fine on this overhang wall which will take one single large quilt well. I am happy fishing a pole over the bannister onto a fixed cuphook when I want to change that quilt. But I feel that that fixed hooks at fixed heights and width would curtail spontaneous creativity for the other walls.


Ami Simms has a 'No See um' idea but unless I read it wrongly It still requires a fixed curtain rail although it allows for differing quilt widths.

These hangers are attractive and can be moved from quilt to quilt as required but still require nails in the wall which might become visible if I move to a smaller quilts. ( I am wondering if I install a high picture rail and use these over suspended picture hooks that might work?) Or, it seems you can use these removable adhesive strips with them - but that does not solve the problem of how to reach up to fill the space on the tall wall along the stairs.


I then recalled this method using monofilament and then then I found this pulley system - I have my Dad now exploring http://www.ironmongeryonline.com/ for pulleies to see if we can better the cost and design, not least, we thought, by desiging boxes to hide the unslightly pullies

Does anyone have experience of hanging quilts on a pulley system and have any advice for me?
Any other bright ideas?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fixed curtain rail. Hmmm... Not exactly. The curtain rail (rod) is totally removeable as are the brackets to hold the quilt on the wall. They leave no marks unless you screw in the brackets, which you could, but I don't. The curtain rail is "fixed" in the sense that the WIDTH is "fixed" to the quilt width (temporarily with a tension screw).

The only thing you might have a problem with in the UK is getting the right kind of curtain rod (er, rail). It must have an opening and be somewhat shaped like the letter C.

Ami :)

Shelina said...

I look forward to seeing what you come up with. I too have a wall that I want to fill with little quilts. So far the only thing I have used are curtain rods, so I really am not in a position to give advice on this topic.

Anonymous said...

I use the "HangUps" all the time in my home and my office. I found that push pins work just fine. I change the quilts I display in my office all the time and so am moving them around alot. The push pins just leave a small hole, and they are easy in, easy out. Just a thought for you. Denise in PA

Christine Thresh said...

I use straight pins (sewing pins without big heads) for hanging small quilts on our sheetrock walls. The holes the pins leave in the wall when removed are very tiny and I can't see them. I suppose I could put on my reading glasses and find them, but I won't. The first pin you stick in your newly painted wall will make you feel bad, but after that pin away. (You could keep a small can of leftover paint and some filler on hand to cover the holes if they bother you later.)

Garnered Stitches said...

I like the HangUps idea, while I was reading your post I had an image of the old laundry dryers that hang from the ceiling and move down on pulleys when you want to put the washing on, I suppose that the HangUps system is a modern day version, but against the wall. Hope your Dad can create you something as brilliant!

Best wishes

Kristin L said...

I'm in love with a system I've seen in a few galleries. It's infinitely variable. First, you install a track just below the ceiling, the full width of your wall. You can find one that's an inconspicuous white and then even paint it if you'd like. No one will be looking at it anyways, once you've hung your art. Depending on the specific design of what you find, it will have hook things (each smaller than the size of your thumb) that hook into or over the track. From these hook thingies hangs monofilament. On the end of each piece of monofilament is another hook that you place into the eye screws at each end of the rod in your quilt's rod pocket. Since you have presumably made your rod an inch or two shorter than the width of your quilt, the eye screws and the hooks won't show from the front. The beauty of this system is that the hooks on the end of the monofilament can slide up and down and tighten to hold their position. So, you can hang two long strings to hold one quilt, or four strings to hold two quilts. They can hang next to each other, or one above the other. You can hang a big quilt next to a small quilt. Just slide the hooks horizontally across the track to adjust left to right, and slide the other hooks up or down the monofilament to adjust the hight of your quilt(s). I just googled this site so I can't endorse it, but it is what I'm trying to explain:

http://www.picturehanging.com/clip-rail.shtml

Jolly Jane said...

Whilst pinning a quilt to the wall won't seriously damage the wall it isn't a great thing to do to your quilt! Even if you only use sewing pins the weight of the quilt, even a small one, will still increase the size of the hole that the pin makes! However, you fix it to the wall I would say it is always best to avoid using pins through the quilt!!