Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Design Walls

So, as I am slowly working on my Reproduction Quilt - the one that will be finished in 2031, I want a design wall.

I have stipulations - 1. It has to be portable.

                              2. It has to be Put Awayable

                              3. It has to be easy to use (because I can NOT handle many more challenges at the moment)

                             4. It can not block the sunlight for too long ( I have LOTs of windows!)

So - what do you all use for a design wall?

10 comments:

Kim West said...

I use the portable design wall found here: http://planetpatchwork.com/cherylannsreview.htm

I have yet to set it up in my house, but I use it all the time when I have my bee at a local community center.

Linda in TX said...

Okay - I had all the same criteria as you - and a girl friend suggested the perfect solution. I bought 2 room screens on sale at Hobby Lobby (2 in case the quilt is really BIG). I padded the back of each panel with 6 oz cheap polyester "puffy" batting from JoAnn's (spray glued it in - just to hold it and fill in the surface). Then I cut white felt the size of each panel (from edge to edge) and staple gunned it on. It was easy to do, even easier to move around and use, and folds up and stores easily.

Quiltin Jenny said...

I thumbtack the flannel flat sheet from my guestroom bed to the biggest wall in my design studio (aka my bedroom!).

It is not portable, unless I guess you roll it up carefully, but it is cheap (free if you already have flannel sheets), easy to put up and put away.

I needed a really big one for a queen sized kaleidoscope quilt, and portable was just not going to help. I needed BIG and temporary.

Good luck! Can't wait to see what you come up with.

Anonymous said...

http://fibermania.blogspot.com/2005/03/portable-design-wall.html

Anonymous said...

Use foam insulation board covered with batting. Like the one in this link--just don't screw it to the wall.

http://a-ditchin-time-quilts.blogspot.com/2010/09/quilting-design-wall-just-completed.html

Nancy in Denver

heather said...

I like the room screen idea. Decorative on one side and functional on the other.

Anonymous said...

I second the recommendation of the celotex from the home center. If it is just in your sewing area, who needs decorative? You cover it with flannel or fleece or really thin batting (warm and natural) and stick it in with your quilt pins. When you need it to go away, you just shove it behind something or lay it flat under a bed.(very lightweight) You can make it larger by taping another piece onto it with (my personal favorite)duck tape!
One really favorable part of this material is that you can pin into it. So if you want to overlap pieces, of if you have a breeze coming through your sewing room (boys on the run), a little pinning helps. But the product does not break down into dust because you pinned into it.
I have been using these for years. I have 3! Oh, yes, actually 6, because, turn it around and you have another side!
So you, and your boys, can have design walls!
By the way, love your blog and all that you do for Quilts of Valor.

Pat at Bell Creek Quilts said...

I put push pins in the drywall at the ceiling level then use binder clips to hold batting and the *hook-y* part to hang on the push pin. My empty wall is about 65 x 90. I just clipped a fresh piece of batting and posted about it. :)

Quilter Kathy said...

I have a big piece of drywall with batting stapled to it...not portable at all.

Cory said...

I use the back of a flannel backed vinyl tablecloth tacked to the wall at home. We can't do that at the church. So, we had one of the hubbies cut a 1x3 in half on a 45 degree angle. The bottom half of the board is permanently attached to the wall with the 45 angle toward the wall. The tablecloth is tacked to the top half of the board. The board sits on top of the bottom half securely. Then, when we need to put it away, the tablecloth rolls up around the top half of the board and stands neatly in the corner. I will take pictures on Friday when we sew and post them on my blog and send you a link. Good luck with your design wall. Take care and God bless, Cory