Building a Design Wall: A Tutorial

Tell me, is this you?
Do you lay out your quilt blocks on the floor? Do your kids, cats or dogs step on them, mess them up, or shuffle them? Do you finally get your perfect layout only to have to scoop them up and put them away till you can sew again later?

OK people- then it is time for a design wall!

Now, you can have a design wall even if you don't have much space. All you really need is batting that you can pin to your wall. You could even install batting on command strips and roll it down and up as needed like a shade. Now that I think of it, that might have been a good idea for me but I digress. 

If you have more space and want something a little more finished, then I recommend using a piece of foam insulation board wrapped in batting. I found Elizabeth Hartman's tutorial helpful but here are my tips.

I picked mine up at Home Depot for $15.00 It was BIG too. Something like 96 x 46 x 1. I had high hopes it would fit in the mini van but not so much.  No worries, I had them cut it down the middle length wise and trim 12" off the end for me.

It's important to get the kind of insulation board that has a groove along the side because then you can put the tongue and groove parts together to fit the two cut pieces flush together and tape them up the middle.

the front side, seam taped with masking tape

Duck tape or masking tape works to tape the seams together. Then you need a piece of batting that is about 2.5" - 3" wider on all sides than your board. Lay your foam board on the batting with the writing side up. With your staple gun, pull the batting taught over the edges and staple it in place.

There is a lot of power in a staple gun- don't you love it?

Do all the sides and then the corners. I folded the batting in a triangle shape over the corner and trimmed off the point. Then pulling tightly, staple it in place as flat as you can make it.

Finally cover your staples with duck tape so your staples don't scratch or mark up your wall.

Now you have a fabulous design wall; one you can move about your sewing space or mount on the wall. It's light weight and should hold a lot of blocks!

To hang it on the wall, I attached 12 Command Velcro Strips to the back of the board along the top and down the sides. The bottom of the board rests on the chair railing in my sewing room so this helps hold it up too.

It's BIG but will fit a lot of blocks and I can't wait to fill it up! I haven't had much time to sew this summer so I am looking forward to cranking back up.

Do you have a design wall? Does this inspire you to make one?

xo,
Jennifer