Are you looking for a simple quilt hanger that you can customize to any length you need? Displaying all of the beautiful quilts we have is one of the most challenging parts of quilting. We have so many lovely quilts that just beg to be seen, but only so many beds, tables, and couches to display quilts on. This project gave me the perfect way to display my Designer Mystery 2022 Quilt by Fat Quarter Shop.
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Today I’m going to share a quilt hanging idea that can be completed in less than a day. This quilt hanger can be made in any size to accommodate the size of your wall. It can be made smaller for wall hanging quilts by just sizing down the length of your wood pieces
I have a large wall behind a sofa in my sewing studio that I built my quilt hanger for. The wall is about 10 feet long, so I built an 8 foot quilt holder. This tutorial will include measurements for an 8 foot board. If you build something smaller, just size down accordingly.
DIY Quilt Hanging Idea
For this project you will need the following:
- 2 boards of your choice at least 1″x3″ (actual size 3/4″ x 3.5″) – I chose two mahogany boards from Menards
- 5 Wood Insert Nuts – these can be found in the hardware area at Lowe’s in the furniture repair drawer. This allows you to have an inset nut in the front board to securely screw the back board on. When you change out your quilt, it won’t ruin the wood to remove the screws.
- 5 Machine Screws 1/4 inch diameter, 1 1/4 inches long – Machine screws work best as they have a flat end and a tapered head to inset into the board. You won’t use the nuts that come in the package, just the screws.
- Wall hanging hardware of choice – I used two of these small D-ring hangers.
Building the Quilt Hanger
Marking the Holes
Measure 6″ from both ends of one of the boards. Mark the center of the board at that 6″ mark. Next, find the center of your board at the half-way point and again, mark that spot. The final two screws will be midway between the center point and each of the end points we already marked. This was approximately 21″ away from the center.
Next clamp the two boards together with the marked board on top. Use a 1/8″ drill bit to drill completely thru the back board and just a little tiny bit into the front board (about 1 inch deep total). Drilling both boards at once will line up the hardware perfectly later. Be careful not to drill all of the way through both boards. We want to keep the front of the top board on the wall smooth.
I forgot to grab a picture of this but just sandwich the boards together, line up the ends and edges with the marked side up. Clamp them securely together, and drill the 5 small holes.
Taking the BACK board, use a 1/4″ drill bit and make each of the 5 holes larger by drilling through the pilot hole you already made. Then use a counter sink bit and make the little divot or funnel shape on the back side. This allows the screw to sit flush with the back of the board that will be against the wall.
Next, you will use a 5/16″ drill bit to place widen the hole for the brass wood insert screws in the back side of the FRONT board. You don’t want to drill completely thru this board, just 1/2 inch deep to install the wood insert screw. I used a small piece of electrical tape wrapped around my bit 1/2 inch from the end to know when to stop drilling.
Installing the Hardware
After drilling all of the holes for the wood insert screws, use a flat head screw driver to carefully hand screw the 5 wood insert screws into the back side of the FRONT board until they are flush with the wood.
Making a Channel for the Quilt Edge
Next you will need to use a table saw or router to make a 1/4″ channel in the back side of the FRONT board. This will be on the same side of the board that holds the wood insert screws we just put in above. This channel should be 3/4″-1″ away from the bottom edge of the FRONT board. Remember, it’s important that everything is on the back side of the FRONT board so that the face of it remains untouched and smooth.
The channel should be deep enough to securely tuck the binding edge of your quilt into the quilt hanger.
At this point, you can seal or paint your boards. Make sure you wait for the boards to dry or cure according to the product label. Now it’s time to attach the D-ring picture hangers above the outer most holes on the back side of your BACK board of the quilt hanger.
Once you have the hangers on the BACK board, you are ready to load a quilt into the quilt hanger and hang it on the wall.
Loading the Quilt
To load a quilt into the quilt display hanger, place the front board on the floor, channel side up. Simply tuck the binding into the channel of the front board so that the wrong side of the quilt is also up.
Smooth the quilt so it is laying with the binding in the channel and flat against the back of the board. Lay the back board on top and insert your 5 machine screws through the holes and tighten to clamp the quilt between the two pieces of wood.
Attach to the wall with your method of choice. I used a drywall anchor with the screw sticking out about a 1/4″ on each end to hook my D rings onto.
I hope you use my quilt hanging idea in your home to display quilts on your walls. This method is really easy if you have a few tools and a little woodworking know how. If you don’t have access to a table saw or router, find a local woodworker or friend that does and see if they can do the channel for you. It only takes a few minutes, so it should be an inexpensive thing to hire someone to do if needed.
Happy quilting!
