Hanging Rolled Textiles On Underutilized Spaces

Purpose

This hanging system uniquely utilizes space that would generally be ignored or deemed unusable, while using easily accessible material and known hanging techniques. It can be custom designed and constructed to fit on architectural features such as slanted walls to provide easy and safe access, and to maximize the use of available space.

Figure 1. Final view of the rolled hanging textile collection mounted to the storage room’s slanted wall (© Government of Canada, Canadian Conservation Institute. CCI 1228843-0010).

Author(s)

Alicia Ghadban
Phone: 613-262-8730
Email: alicia.ghadban@gmail.com

Simon Lambert
Canadian Conservation Institute
1030 Innes Road
Ottawa, ON K1B 4S7
Phone: (613) 998-3721 ext. 255
Email: simon.lambert@canada.ca

Margaret Mulrooney
Colchester Historeum
29 Young Street
Truro, NS B2N 5C5
Phone: (902) 895-6284
Email: curator@colchesterhistoreum.ca

Illustration & Photo Credits: Canadian Conservation Institute

Publication: 2016

Figure 1. Initial view of the rolled textile collection in storage (© Government of Canada, Canadian Conservation Institute. CCI 128843-0007).

Figure 2. Initial view of the rolled textile collection in storage (© Government of Canada, Canadian Conservation Institute. CCI 128843-0007).

Description

While conducting a storage reorganization project, it was decided that textile collections that had been dispersed throughout several rooms would be relocated and stored in the same space. Since space was limited, utilizing a slanted wall within the storage room was the most suitable option. As a result, objects were first rolled in acid-free tissue paper with a central dowel and eye-hooks on each side, and then attached to a slanted wall using an S-hook and chain system.

Materials, Tools & Supplies

Acid-free tissue paper

Figure 2. Team members prepare objects for storage by rolling textiles in acid-free tissue paper with a central dowel (© Government of Canada, Canadian Conservation Institute. CCI 128843-0014).

Figure 3. Team members prepare objects for storage by rolling textiles in acid-free tissue paper with a central dowel (© Government of Canada, Canadian Conservation Institute. CCI 128843-0014).

Table saw
Drill
Dowels
S-hooks
Chains
Plywood
Eye-hook
Ruler / measuring tape
Misc. (screws, nails, etc.)

Construction

Attach an eye-hook to both ends of a dowel.
Figure 4. Close-up view of the rolled hanging textile system illustrating the use of dowels, eye-hooks, S-hooks and chains, all secured to a strip of plywood (© Government of Canada, Canadian Conservation Institute. CCI 128843-0003).
On a flat surface, lay a piece of acid-free tissue paper below the textile object.
Place the dowel on one end of the textile object and evenly roll to the opposite end. [Fig. 3]
Repeat steps 1 through 3 as required.
Secure two strips of plywood to the slanted wall using screws and ensure they are evenly spaced apart. Use anchors, if necessary.
Attach a chain at the same level on both strips of plywood using nuts and screws.
Attach an S-hook to the bottom of the chain.
Slip the eye-hooks (of the rolled textile) onto the S-hooks.
Repeat steps 6 through 8 as required.

Comments

For identifying the placement of chains and S-hooks, you may roughly place the rolled object near the previously hung one to get a general sense of where to situate the next.

Adapted From

“RE-ORG.” 2011. ICCROM and UNESCO.

“Rolled Storage for Textiles.” 2008. Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) Notes 13/3.

Keywords

textiles, rolls

Solutions