ADD A SLEEVE TO YOUR QUILT

If your quilt is going to be displayed on a wall or an exhibition, then you will need a rod sleeve on the back of the quilt.

 Cut a piece of fabric 8" wide x the width of your quilt – join fabric if necessary.  Double fold and sew a hem along the two short ends. Press in half lengthways and join the strip along the long raw edge.

Press again to hide the seam  at the back of the strip.

 If your quilt is already bound pin the sleeve at the inside top edge of the binding.  Hand sew the top edge of the sleeve to the quilt, taking care not to catch the front of the quilt as you sew.  Push the sleeve up a little so it has a little ‘give’, this allows a bubble in the pocket to accommodate the rod thickness.  Pin into position, and hand sew the bottom of the sleeve to the quilt, again taking care the stitches do not show through to the front of the quilt. 

 If your quilt is not bound yet, sew on the binding and before turning to the back and hand sewing it down, pin the sleeve to the top of the quilt, level with the top raw edge.

 Machine sew the sleeve to this edge INSIDE the seam allowance for the binding, using a walking foot. Then you can turn the binding to the back and hand sew down. The sleeve will be inside the binding on the top edge.

 Sew the bottom of the sleeve as above.