Re: Design walls

[Caroline T.]

Many of us have design walls of one kind or another. Me, I use a flannel backed table cloth, but the blocks tend to fall off with the slightest breeze so the blocks need to be pinned in place. Not a problem for me though.

But what gets me is the dust, lint, little threads and most annoying ... pet hair, that sticks to the wall. Lint rollers, and an occassional vacuem (with the little hose attachment) helps, and the tablecloth is inexpensive enough that if it gets to ugh, I can always replace it, but I would like to ask that you share what type of wall do you use, and how do you keep it clean. Any special tricks?

[Granny Judy]

Re: Design walls

I have a large antique wardrobe that is a room divider. The back faces my sewing area. I put a large flannel sheet over the ugly back and it works great...looks better, too.

I will vacuum it with my small hand held vacuum when it gets too nasty with threads and fur.. And I keep a roller handy for in-between. I can also remove it, wash it & put it back up. Only had to do that once in the past 3 years.. cause I spilt my tea on it. I have a cat that bumps my hands when she wants petted. She doesn't care what I'm holding, either.
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[pcbatiks]

Re: Design walls

I have the Fons & Porter hanging design wall.....flannel on one side with 2 inch grid that shows through on the other side. I hung it from command hooks on the wall. Dust and pet hair doesn't seem to be a problem but it does have threads on it.

[shirleyknot]

Re: Design walls

2 big cardboard cutting mats (walmart stuff for about 4 bucks each), pinned to the wall, and a box of big straight pins. Works for me, and it doesn't collect threads.

[GrandmaE]

Re: Design walls

I also have the Fons and Porter design wall hanging from command hooks. I don't have pets so hair isn't a problem. I don't seems to have threads either but I am a little OCD about things and trim and remove them as I go. It works well for me.

[quiltingaway]

Re: Design walls

I have a large batting tacked to the wall with push pins. The batting seems to hold blocks better than tablecloths I've used in the past. I guess the threads just don't bother me There are stray threads all over the room and me when I'm sewing so I don't pay any attention to it.

[Quilt Junkie]

Re: Design walls

I made my own design wall years ago and it has held up amazing. Used a large piece of batting and hemmed a 1" -2" channel in the top and bottom, then put ¼" wooden dowels in the channels, then use cup hooks in the wall to hang whole peice by dowels. When it gets linty or thready i use a tape roller to clean it. It holds pieces to the wall wonderfully, easy to take down for any reason, very durable and washable if needed. Mine is around 80"x70"

[JCY]

Re: Design walls

I have no wall space for a design wall. I use the carpeted floor in my fam. rm. to lay out blocks.

[Yanna]

Re: Design walls

No design wall. I use my bed because if I get on the floor someone would have to help me up.

[kgirlmom]

Re: Design walls

For my first design wall, I used 2 sheets of 4x8 insulation board from Lowe's. I think I cut about a foot off each one to make it fit in my space. I covered the large boards with inexpensive batting I had left over, but did have to use pins to keep pieces on the boards. That worked for me for about a year, but it did gather threads, and various other things like grass burrs if my pup walked by it. When I recently moved, I took that batting off and transported the boards to my new apartment. Over a year ago, I bought a king size Warm and Natural bat for my daughters wedding quilt, but since I sent it to MSQ for quilting, they would only use Hobbs 80/20. So had this unused box of W&N for the cover of the design wall in my new place. With the W&N on the boards, I do not have to pin at all! Blocks stick nicely and don't fall down! The only time I have to use pins is once I have sewn a row. Then i do use 3 pins - one on each end and one in the middle. So far the W&N has not picked up any foreign stuff ... but I no longer have grass burrs to worry about either. The boards are hung with the heavy duty command strips since I am afraid to put nails in the wall. So far so good! My wall is 96" wide and 84" long I think. I kept the two pieces I cut off the original boards and plan to use as portables near my machine to place pattern blocks on to keep me on track. I am pleased with my decision to use W&N on these boards.

[grammaterry]

Re: Design walls

I think about making a wall but so far, the floor is my place. I lay it out, take a picture, move it around, take another picture, move it some more, take picture, send picture to daughter, move it around and then I sew.

[309Bella]

Re: Design walls

FYI...I just posted MY unused Fons and Porter Design Wall in the Don't Want It group. I love my Cheryl Ann's Portable Design Wall. I, too, get some threads stuck on it but my vac takes care of it.

[Hulamoon]

Re: Design walls

I covered poster boards with felt yardage and velcroed it to the wall. So far I haven't had to clean it to much. I usually take clear packing tape and dab it on the bad spots.

[Quilt Junkie]

Re: Design walls

I also use warm and natural....ive had great results too. I can put whole rows and whole quilts up without using any pins. My tape roller cleans it up nicely and ive never had a problem with lots of debris or anything. (Used same batting for years) I have a friend that did the same as u did with the foam insulation panels and put them together with duct tape so she could fold them and put them away easier. Works great as a temp design wall

[cmhquilter]

Re: Design walls

I use my spare bedroom bed. I also use it to sandwich my quilts.