Categories: Utility, Quilts

Design walls can come in handy for any crafter or sewist, but they are a must for any quilter. They allow you to lay out a project, view it from a distance, and keep it visible and at the same time out of the way. This design wall is ideal for quilters with limited wall space since the back-side also serves as a design space. The back side can be used for a long-term quilt project, while the front is accessible for your current project.

What you need to make this project

Materials: Nature-Fil™ Bamboo Blend Batting 90″ x 108″; 1 Panel Rigid Insulation Foam; Four 1x4 boards; 4 L brackets; screws and staples

Supplies: Staple Gun; scissors; hammer; Saw; Drill (optional)

Instructions

Step One

Trim your insulation sheet as needed. The rigid foam insulation generally comes in 4 x 8 foot sheets. 8 feet was a bit tall for our space and…I’m 5’2″, there’s no way I’d be able to reach the top of an 8 foot design board, so we started out by cutting our insulation sheet down.

Use half of your batting to cover the BACK side of your insulation. This will be the side with the writing all over it. The writing will show through slightly, but this is going to be our BACK, so it’s not a big deal…it’s just serving us with extra design space.

Staple in place. Note…staples at this step is just to hold the batting on generally during the next step. The staples will NOT hold the batting really securely. They pull out of the foam pretty easy.

Step Two

Build a rectangular frame using your 1×4 boards so that the outside of your frame is the same size as the outside of your insulation sheet. Use L brackets and screws to make sure the corners are square.

Place your frame over the covered BACK of your design wall. (The front should still be bare at this point.)

Keep the layers together, flip over to the other side. Use a drill to drive screws through the foam and all the way into the wood.

Step Three

Wrap the rest of your batting over the front of your design board, around the sides and over the wood. Staple thoroughly and securely in place.

Step Four

Cut a 1 x 2″ piece of wood so that it is angled like the one in the pictures and just slightly less long than the inside of your frame. Attach to your wall using screws, being sure at least one of the screws is anchored to a stud.