Sew Many Design Walls!

I had the following question from Sheri come in --- and I felt the best way to get the best answers was to post her question to our Quiltville Friends facebook page!

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She asked: 

"I was wondering about a design wall. I don't currently have one but I think that I would like to.

I am very limited on space. Can you maybe post and see if anyone has ideas for what to do or how to set it up. What fabric they may have used? 

Fleece, flannel, or what ever works or maybe doesn't work so well. I will be putting this together and hoping to make something "portable" since I am so limited on space. Thank you in advance. " Sheri in PA

 
Well, over the course of the day there are more than 111 comments on different things to do for a portable design wall. 
 
Lots of suggestions for the easy and inexpensive flannel backed table cloth idea ((Which I have also used in my sewing area at the cabin, and it works just fine)) to elaborate expensive ones you can buy online or at quilt shows.
 
I thought I could share a few of the best clips with you here, just in case these ideas may work for you.  I tried to find a way to copy/paste the whole thing, but – well – it’s not that easy!
 
Susan wrote:
 

 

I'm also thinking about buying a very wide window shade at Home Depot, adhering flannel to it with spray glue and hanging it above the closet doors. This way I can pull down the 'wall' when I need it, and I can also roll it back up with the pieces still on it to have access to the closet. One of these days....

And I thought that might be good until QuilterXin wrote:

 

 

I did that with a Wide shade, BUT, it doesn't work well rolling back up when you have the extra flannel backing tacked to it! Also, i must not have bought the correct/thin flannel b/c it doesn't hold the blocks of material as well as the plastic table cloth ones....

Okay, these two comments cancelled each other out!  If it is the thickness of the flannel that made the rolling shade not want to roll back up…..could you line the rolling shade with a flannel backed table cloth? Quilters and ideas….we will figure this out yet!

 

Foam insulation board was also a favorite in the discussion and that is what I used for my own design wall here ---but it can be big and bulky and take up a whole wall, and Sheri is limited on space…I suppose you can cut the foam board into any size you want, hinging them with duct tape so you can fold them and put them out of the way, but I thought this next idea was really cool:

 

 

Sandi bought pvc pipe and corners and for not much money she did this:

 

I have a couple. One that I slide around in a bigger room that is 6' x 6'. It is also collapsible. However, my second one is PVC pipe with the corner pieces. I used the 5' length and then I took a flannel sheet and made pockets on four sides and made it nice and tight. I can hang it on hooks or I can lean it anywhere I want to.

It cost me $11.00 to make the frame and a used white flannel sheet. It is also easy to pop apart since it is not glued together. You could make it smaller if you ask them at the hardware store to cut the PVC. You can also make it larger by using the longer pieces. Both works great and both can travel to retreats.

If you are limited on space, this might really work well for you because you can take it apart and put it back together when you need to and it will store easily in a small space in a closet.

 

Julie Young brought forth a great idea she’d heard:

 

 

I have seen people cover the back side of those folding cutting boards with felt or flannel then hang it by clipping on large binder clips and hanging the clip handles on to command hooks. It is a bit more stable, plus you can fold it and slip it under the bed or in the closet if needed.

This sounds VERY sturdy, and portable! 

 

I remember these folding cutting boards from growing up and learning to sew clothing – I didn’t even know they still made these…..because they fold accordion style, you could get them to also stand on their own by how you bent the folds.

 

And for the real do-it-yourself types…here is another project for you!  Wanda writes:

 

 

Here are the plans to the one I have. It is made from PVC pipe & either flannel or felt (your choice - I used flannel).   I love mine.

http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com/2009/05/tool-time-tuesdaybut-its-wednesday.html.

 

Image from Sewmanyways.blogspot.com

 

This portable design wall is 32” X 32” and the flannel is sewn like a pillowcase and just slides over the frame.  I believe you could make this any size you want.  Get busy!

 

Another great idea comes from Pauline who writes:

 

 

Bonnie, been wanting a reason to share this.


I bought several yard sticks from the paint store, doubled and glued so that the seams were braced. Drew a level line on the wall, screwed in heavy duty cup holders, also from the hardware store. Hung clips from Walmart (super cheap and made in America) When used as my design wall I hang a flannel sheet.
 

To start to  vertically sandwich and pin baste my quilt I remove the sheet, hang the backing, tape the edges to the wall with painters masking tape, add the batting, smooth out, add the quilt top, smooth and pin. Works great for me. My sewing room is in a 10 x 20 portable building so I can leave it up.

Pauline

I shared a post with my “not so portable” design wall HERE.  This is at the bottom of the stairs and outside of my main studio because I didn’t have any free wall space IN the studio.  It works for me, and I like having it there!

If you would like to share what you’ve used as a portable and not so portable design wall, please feel free to leave your comments in the comments section below so others can read them!

 

It’s been a great day in Eugene..spent the morning shopping, and enjoyed lunch out…then came back to the hotel and slept for 3 hours straight.  I had been up and go go go go every day since Sunday when I first flew here and I think I needed a day to play catch up.

 

I’ll be sewing in the hotel room tonight!!

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