How to hang a tapestry wall-hanging

We occasionally receive questions about how to hang a tapestry wall-hanging so we enclose information about the care and hanging of tapestries with every order. You can see these practical tapestry care suggestions on our website.

Here are our thoughts about how to hang a tapestry wall-hanging:

• There may be transit creases on your tapestry when you receive it. These can be removed easily by careful pressing with a steam iron on the rear side. Use the heat of the iron rather than heavy pressing to accomplish this thus preventing any stretching of the yarns.
• Tapestries are woven individually on a loom and part of their individuality is that there may be irregularities in the weave or there may be hanging undulations. Do not expect them to be precisely square and flat like a framed print: this is not their character.
• There are two ways to hang tapestries with rod pockets (our standard finishing always has a rod pocket on the lining):

– cut a length of round wooden dowel slightly longer than the rod pocket. Insert small closed cup-hooks into each end and simply place them over small picture hook nails. This is quick, easy and inexpensive. If the tapestry is very long you could use a flat batten to prevent bowing.
– purchase a metal or wooden decorator rod with finials (decorative ends) from a local drapery, hardware or interiors store. Use the provided brackets to hang the tapestry ‘off’ the wall or, our preferred method, you hang the rod over two nails hammered down at a 45 degree angle for flush mounting. Add a pair of cords with tassels to either side if you wish to match the tapestry to the existing décor.

Add a pair of cords with tassels to either side if you wish to match the tapestry to the existing décor. This aids colour co-ordination. (Interestingly, you can use these not to match colours but to tone down colours by using cords and tassels from the opposite side of the colour wheel.)

An annual brushing with a soft brush is sufficient to dust your tapestry – or use the drapes vacuum attachment. It may be dry cleaned with care if a stain somehow occurs but we suggest this be a last resort.

Modern woven tapestries can cope with ultra-violet so much better than older tapestry wall-hangings but we suggest they are not placed within direct sunlight. Then they should last longer than you!

Some people consider that the ideal viewing distance is 2.5 x the diagonal measurement of the tapestry.

If you have any questions about how to hang a tapestry wall-hanging please do email them to us and we will be glad to advise.