The Conundrum:
Throughout my Longarming career, one of my biggest struggles has been to get quality photos of my finished quilts. Before I hand off a customer quilt I like to get a few (or sometimes a 100) pictures of the finished project. Photography is important to me and I’ve learned over the years how vital it is to get quality photos of quilts to showcase my designs and quilting. Some of my past techniques have included draping quilts over the longarm machine, laying them on floors, and even hanging them from my machine light bar. This usually left me climbing on furniture to get pictures of questionable quality.
A year ago I made the difficult decision to have my studio separate from our living space. I was lucky to be given work space in my boyfriend’s dad’s house. (That’s a mouthful isn’t it?) The walkout basement gives me plenty of space to spread out. Which means I’ve finally been able to set up a quilt photography space! I determined that the extra bedroom with the nice big window to create side lighting would be the best space to use. So now comes the question . . .How to hang the quilt?
What I Needed:
My requirements for my system were:
- Low budget
- Ease of installation
- Low impact/damage on the wall
After a trip to my favorite helpful hardware store (I swear those guys groan when they see me coming), I had supplies and a plan! And at $24.75 for supplies I had hit all my requirements! Here’s what I had:
- 2 eyebolts $2.79
- 50 ft of soft thin rope $5.99
- 10′ metal conduit 3/4″ diameter $5.99
- 1 boat cleat (to tie off with) $2.49
- Curtain hangers (optional) $7.49
What We Did:
After recruiting my boyfriend and his power tools, we went to work! First we installed the two eye bolts as close to the ceiling as we could. I wasn’t too concerned with them being perfectly even as I figured I could level the quilt as I pulled it up. And honestly, what are the chances of me holding my camera perfectly level anyways? This is why I have Lightroom!
Then we slid the hangers onto the conduit and ran our rope through the center of it. You will want considerably more rope on one end than the other as one rope will travel to the other eye bolt before going down the wall.
Next we strung the rope through the eye bolt on each end of the wall. Then we ran one of the ropes over to the opposite end of the wall and through the eye bolt on that side (so one eye bolt has two ropes running through it. This allows me to raise and lower the quilt from one end. Finally we installed the boat cleat to tie the ropes off.
Now I was ready to load a quilt! First I tie off the hanger so it is about half way down the wall. This makes it a convenient height to load a quilt on. The curtain hangers easily clip onto the edge of the backing and batting. (I’m careful not to clip them onto the quilt top as I would be concerned about leaving marks.) Next I untie the rope from the boat cleat and pull the quilt up to the top. Tie it off again and happily take pictures!
The End Results:
I have been so pleased to have this up and running! It’s easy load a quilt on, and it raises and lowers easily! But I do have a few critiques of the system.
- Installing it on a 8 foot high wall means that a lot of my larger quilts still drape on the floor. My only taller option would be outdoors. That’s just not a realistic option day to day here in the rainy Flathead Valley.
- My metal conduit does bow a bit. Originally I had wanted a wood closet dowel. However these were very expensive and I could only find an eight foot option. Next I considered PVC but decided this would be too flimsy. I consider this slight bowing of the metal conduit acceptable for the inexpensive price. Also the fact that it is light weight, while leaving it susceptible to the bowing, makes it easy to raise and lower.
- I’m not sure if the curtain hangers shown here are the best option for this system. They are easy to use, but I don’t feel that they hold the quilt as flat as I would like. I’m still debating other options.
What about lighting you ask? Currently I’m using my extra plant and chicken lights. You know, the ones with the metal shades and clamps that you can find at the feed store. I made sure to purchase bulbs that didn’t have a yellow tint to use with them. While this has been working moderately well in conjunction with the natural light, I have plans to experiment with my system. Stay tuned for more info!
Do you have a quilt hanging system you love? I’d LOVE to hear about it! Email me at cfbquilts@gmail.com!
