Rod pocket for Caylan's piece

I finished my niece Caylan's present today, so I thought I'd take some photos of the rod pocket process. For a full sized quilt, I start with a four inch piece of fabric that's slightly narrower than the quilt width. I used a three inch wide piece for this little wall hanging. I hem both edges and then fold it in half with wrong sides togther and stitch the top one quarter inch from the top. After all the quilting is completed and the edges have been trimmed, I sew the pocket to the top edge at the same time that I'm sewing on the bias binding.

The pocket should be about an inch shorter finished than the quilt. This will give you room to attach and turn the bias binding.

Turn the bias binding to the back and sew it down.

Be careful not to catch the open edges of the pocket when you are sewing down the bias binding.

When you come to the top edge, sew down the bias as usual.

I usually mark the dowel rod a little shorter than the pocket width. This will keep the eyelets from showing on the front.

Three tools you should probably own--a hammer, an awl, and needle nose pliers.

With a hammer, I tap a starting hole in each end of the dowel using the awl. Then I use the needle nose pliers to screw the eyelets into the ends of the dowel.

With the rod in the pocket, pin down the bottom of the pocket and stitch it to the back of the quilt. This will prevent a bulge on the front of the quilt. If you sew down the pocket with no slack, you will get a bulge on the front.

No bulge.

Here's the finished piece--"Skeletons Dancing for Caylan's Birthday."