New Design Wall :: Super Sized

I've been wanting to increase the size of my design wall for a long time now.  The other day I decided to just do it!  Figure it out and go for it!

It doesn't look that big with this mammoth quilt on it, but trust me when I say it's twice the size as my previous design wall!



The first step was deciding what kind of wall and what materials to use.  There's the very popular foam insulation boards covered in flannel, flannel sheets, a large piece of batting and of course, pre-made walls.

Mine needed to be portable to some extent.  I need it to hang while designing, but I need to be able to take it down when I want to take photo's of a finished quilt.  My wall doubles as a design/photo wall.  I kicked around buying a big white piece of batting or flannel and in the end decided to stick with what has worked for me for all these years of quilting.  Flannel backed vinyl.

Another reason I went with the vinyl is because it's heavy.  The weight allows for it to hang nice, neat and straight.   



I knew Joann's carried what I needed, so I yoinked a 50% off coupon and went on an adventure!  The vinyl was 6.99 a yard, I needed 5 1/2 yards...50% off...less than $20 dollars for a super sized new design wall!  Here is the link to the vinyl I used:  54" Table Pad.



The first thing I did was fold the vinyl in half and line up the sides.  I cut on the fold and trimmed up the bottom.



Next was to make a hem for the board I was going to use.  Since we had the perfect boards already in our basement, I didn't have to make a trip to the lumber store!  That made me happy and my husband too!  The board I'm using is 1 1/2" x 1/4" thick.  It needs to be thick enough to drill a small hole in the edge for a hook & eye screw.  



Once I figured out the hem size to insert the wood, I folded the vinyl over and drew a line from edge to edge.  I drew the line on the vinyl side.  This made it easier to line it up for sewing.  



I stitched from edge to edge close to the edge and then added another line 1/4" from the first for added strength.

Next was turning up the charm and getting my husband to help!  I had him cut the boards to 54".  He didn't complain...really!



We inserted the board, measured 8" from each end for the hook & eye screw.  A quick hole was drilled (as always we had to wait for the drill battery to recharge!) and the screw was in!  One thing I've learned from my husband...always drill a hole first.  If you try and screw the screw in without it you could split the wood or screw it in crooked.  



Let's hang it up!!  We used a basic picture hanger (also on hand) for this step.  Truth time!  My husband drives me crazy sometimes.  He has to do things the right way, the perfect way...that's not a bad thing...but it drives me up a wall!  Plus, he tells me where the design wall should go!  Who's the quilter here?!  We made it through and placed both design walls up without yelling, killing or crying!  I honestly couldn't have done it without him and I'm very thankful that he knows what he's doing and is willing to help me out in these situations!

We butted the design walls up to each other to create one big one.  Together it is 108" wide by 90" high or 9' x 7 1/2'.  Yes, there is a line in the center where the two meet, but it isn't going to make a difference when I'm using it.

My first design wall was was very similar to this one.  Except from the two hook & eye screws I tied a ribbon from hook to hook and hung it on one picture hanger.  It tended to shift sideways as you can imagine, but it worked.  When my 'studio' was also my dining room, it worked well.  I could design on it and take it down when we needed to.  This new way is going to be so much better!  I can actually have several projects hanging at once!



What kind of design wall do you have?  There was a time when I didn't have a design wall and the floor was it...I can't imagine not having one these days!

LINKING:

Oh Scrap

Main Crush Monday

Freemotion by the River

Let's Bee Social

Needle & Thread

TGIFF