HOW TO MAKE A HANGING SLEEVE FOR QUILTS
Most quilt shows require a four inch wide hanging sleeve, so here are a few suggested methods for attaching a sleeve to the back of your quilts before they are entered in a show:
Permanent Sleeve:
1.Cut a strip of fabric nine inches wide across the width of fabric.
The length of the strip should be one to two inches shorter than
the width of the quilt. If your quilt is wider than 40 inches, you
will have to piece strips together to get that length.
Press the seams open.
2.Hem the short ends by turning under ½ inch.
3.Fold the sleeve in half lengthwise, wrong sides together and press.
4.On the back of the quilt, align the raw edges of the sleeve with the top edge of the quilt. (You may baste the layers together first and then trim batting and backing even with top edge of the quilt.)
5.Sew binding on the quilt in usual manner.
6.When sewing binding to the backside, the raw sleeve edge will be encased in binding.
7.Pin the bottom edge of sleeve in place on back of quilt and stitch by hand.
Temporary Sleeve:
1.Turn under short ends of nine inch wide fabric and sew.
2.Sew the nine inch tube in half lengthwise wrong sides together.
3.Center the seam on one side of the tube, and pin in place on back side of the quilt just under the binding.
4.Sew in place by hand making sure stitches don’t show through on the front side.
5.Sew bottom edge in place by hand also.
Hurry up Sleeve:
1.Prepare a five inch strip of fabric that equals the width of the quilt minus one or two inches.
2.Hand baste or use safety pins to secure the temporary sleeve to the top edge of the back side of the quilt (making sure the stitches or pins do not show through to the front). If using this method please baste heavily or use plenty of pins a few inches apart. Too few pins will cause the quilt to hang uneven and put too much stress on the fabric.
Quilt Guild