Two Simple Ways to Hang and Display Textiles

How many times have you taken your favorite textile and just pinned it up on the wall? Or grabbed a rod or stick, and folded the textile over it, securing it with a pin or tape to hold it in place? It’s easy enough to do. But it’s certainly not the way to preserve a textile for years to come. Let me walk you through two simple ways to hang and display textiles vs mounting one which I showed you in this blog.

The piece I’m hanging is a Laos Prayer Flag handwoven of fine silk with a twisted fringe on both ends. I considered whether to show or hide the fringe at the top. I decided on having the fringe show at the top, but I’ll demonstrate how to do it both ways.

Supplies needed for inserting sleeve on back on textile.

Supplies
The supplies you’ll need on hand are: a decorative hanger (I’m using a bamboo one from Lantern Moon); measuring tape; fine pins that can go through silk without leaving holes; scissors; sewing thread to match the color of the piece; a sharp sewing needle that can easily penetrate the cloth; a washed twill tape or, in the case, I used a 2”-wide grosgrain ribbon as it comes in many colors.

Folded Hem

This display rod requires the cloth to be wrapped around it and then stitched as the rod is not removable.  First, position the cloth around the rod, making sure there is enough room for movement. This prayer flag was designed in such a way that it creates a natural place to fold the cloth–the accent weft fits perfectly across the front of the rod.  Pin piece in place.

Fold the cloth around the rod.

Insert the rod. Stitch the edging to the cloth.

Next, using matching sewing thread and fine needle, take a very small stitch catching a few rows above the twisted fringe and then into the fabric. I used an overcast edging stitch and stitched about every 3/8”- 1/4” across the piece. Since the prayer flag is lightweight, I’m not concerned about the weight of the piece pulling against the stitching.

Front view: The special weft threads align with the display rod.

Back view: The fringe falls to the back of the piece.

Sleeve
I chose the sleeve method for this hanging so the fringe would show at the top and the entire prayer flag would be shown.

Measure the tape to the width of the cloth. Pin the bottom of the tape to the back of the piece where you want the rod. (The piece is upside down so the bottom edge of the tape is at the top in this photo.) Using matching sewing thread and a fine needle, sew very small overcast stitches catching about three rows of weft threads. The stitching is so small, about every 3/8-1/4”, it’s barely noticeable on the front.

Pin tape along the bottom edge.

Overcast stitch is very small.

The stitching is barely noticeable.

Place the tape sleeve around the rod, pin the top of the tape to the cloth, and stitch it the same way as the bottom.

Insert the rod, wrap tape over it, and pin in place.

The stitching is completed on top and bottom of rod.

The front view showing the fringe at top; rod is inserted in sleeve on back.

And that’s it. You’re ready to hang it on the wall.

Do you want to learn more about ways to show and display your favorite textiles? Email me at info@clothroads.com and ask me for about your piece.