How to Hang a Quilt on an Outdoor Wall

Ever wondered how to hang a quilt on an outdoor wall? Then wonder no more, have I got the tip for you! This is what I use

It’s heavy duty stick on Velcro that I bought from my local Bunnings store* (our local hardware warehouse) for an odd job round the house (try down the back near the nails and screws). I’d tried several different tapes without success but I was wary of this; would it stick too strongly I wondered? Anyway, I gave it a test with a mini quilt… and it worked!

Time for the next test, would it hold a larger quilt? This one is 45 by 62 inches and I tested it on the wall of my house. If it will stick to this wall it will stick to anything, the bricks are very rough and gritty in a kind of rustic faux-handmade way. And it worked! There were only 3 squarish pieces of Velcro used along the top and that’s all! Happy dance!!!! 

I feel confident that you could hang even larger quilts using this stuff if you use enough of it and I intend to try it out. In the interests of faster test results though, if you do try it on a larger quilt let me know if it was successful. I’ll be glad to update and add any extra information you can provide.

The absolute best thing for the shy quilt photographer is that you can prep before you head out to your perfect photo spot. And it’s re-usable. Mostly. I did have some trouble getting the release sheet off the sticky stuff on some the second time round. For” trouble” read “couldn’t get it off at all”.

A couple of extra bits in the bottom corners will save you from the dreaded wind factor.

That’s the end of my tips and I look forward to hearing any you can add. Happy snapping!

*I have a feeling I may have seen something like it at Spotlight, the giant haberdashery, fabric, Manchester all–round craft supplies warehouse here in Australia. You could try somewhere like that too.

FAQS ANSWERED

·         Will it take off paint?

I haven’t had any trouble with it on the walls I’ve used, I haven’t been very game in my experimentation though. I’ve thought it through in terms of the strength of the bond the paint would have with the surface. For example, brick, because it is porous, will have a stronger bond with the paint than metal. I’m not game to try it on painted metal unless it has been industrially coated nor on my painted plaster internal walls. If you’re unsure it would be worth trying it in an inconspicuous area.

·         Does it leave a residue?

The reason I have this product in my house in the first place is that it’s used to attach pelmets to the tops of my venetian blinds (professional installation not dodgy diy ;-) ). One pelmet gets knocked a fair bit and the Velcro needs replacing every 4 years or so. It leaves a residue on the metal surface after this length of time but over short periods there’s no problem.

·         Does it damage the fabric?

Not at all. I was a bit worried that it might but there was no sign of any roughing up or anything.

·         Is this the right stuff?

Packaging varies around the world. Amanda from This Mom Quilts has kindly let me use her photo of what it looks like in the North American market.