How to Add a Hanging Sleeve As You Go

1. Determine the hanging sleeve rectangle dimensions needed for your quilt. For a 4"-wide finished sleeve, use a width of 9". To figure the length of your hanging sleeve rectangle, subtract 3" from the finished width of your quilt.

2. Turn under 1/4" along short edges of hanging sleeve rectangle; press. Turn under 1/4" again and stitch in place to hem short edges of rectangle.

3. Fold rectangle lengthwise, wrong side together, so that top section above fold is 4-1/4" wide and bottom section below fold is 4-3/4"; press and open.

4. Center rectangle on quilt back, right sides together, aligning top edge of quilt with top edge of 4-1/4"-wide portion of rectangle; pin and baste in place (Photo 1, above). The sleeve should be 2" from edges of quilt top.

5. Using a running stitch, hand-stitch along crease line from Step 3, making sure to sew only through sleeve and backing fabric layers (Photo 2). Pin bottom portion of rectangle to backing as you sew to keep it from shifting.

6. Unpin bottom portion of sleeve rectangle. Fold raw bottom edge of rectangle up and align it with raw edge of quilt top. Pin in place, and then bind as normal to catch raw edge of hanging sleeve (Photo 3).