Have you ever spent hours finishing a quilt only to find out that the design just doesn’t look the way it did in your head? Maybe the fabric doesn’t jive, or you sewed a block the wrong direction, or all the little pieces don’t go the way you thought they would. All that frustration could have been avoided with a design wall!

Design walls can be as simple as a sheet of batting nailed to your wall or as complicated as purpose-built setups you can buy from your favorite quilting shop. However you go about getting one, design walls let you layout your quilt before you put it all together—without worrying about getting crumbs or pet hair all over the fabric. You can stick all the fabric pieces up on the wall and step back to see if your design is working.

We covered the uses of design walls on a recent Tuesdays with Grace segment. Check it out to find out how our expert quilters use them, how they make them, and more. Now, let’s talk about some common methods for making your own quilting design wall.

 

How do you want to secure your fabric on the quilting design wall?

You can secure your fabric on a design wall one of two ways. The first: use a fabric that other fabric naturally sticks to. The second: use pins to secure the fabric. There are benefits and drawbacks to both methods, so make sure you consider carefully before you make your design wall.

A stick-on design wall is super easy to make, and it makes reconfiguring your fabric easy. However, because there’s nothing holding the fabric pieces in place, sometimes they can fall off and end up on the floor.

Pin-on design walls will ensure that your fabric stays where you want it, but that also means adding a little inconvenience if you want to reposition your fabric on the wall. You’ll have to unpin and repin instead of just picking the fabric up and moving it. Making a design wall made for pinning can also take a little more time and effort (but don’t worry, they’re still super easy!)

 

I want to stick my fabric to the design wall without extra implements

Use Batting & Nails or Command Strips

Creating this design wall is as simple as securing batting to your wall. While this might not be the most elegant solution, it’s easy and affordable to make. If you’re looking for something that just works with no fuss, and no muss, this is the perfect choice. Some quilters suggest using 100% cotton batting for the best hold on your fabric pieces.

Use Batting and a Door

Simplify even further by taking out the fasteners. Just drape some batting over a door when you need to see some blocks side by side, and then take it off and put it away when it’s not in use. This is the perfect solution for quilters without much wall space or who don’t want their design wall to be a permanent feature of their sewing room.

Use Sound-Dampening Panels

These felt panels were made for sound proofing, but quilters everywhere have been using them to create elevated, more aesthetically pleasing design walls. These panels look good even when you’re not using them, so they function as a design wall and wall décor, all in one.

 

I want to secure my fabric with pins

Use a Foam Board

All you need to do for this design wall is cut a piece of foam to the size you want and pin up fabric to your heart’s content! 

Use a Cloth-Wrapped Panel

This solution looks a little nicer than a plain foam board. Wrap the foam or a piece of composite board in whatever fabric you like—just make sure you use a solid, neutral color for your fabric. You wouldn’t want the pattern or color to change your opinion on your quilt designs by thinking something is too busy when it isn’t, or that the color scheme isn’t working when it actually is.

 

A Low-Effort Way to Improve Your Quilting Experience

There you have it! Easier than you thought it would be, right? Now that you know how easy and affordable it is to make a design wall, there’s no excuse not to make one! Schedule a little time to put together your wall and watch your quilts improve as a result! We can’t wait to see what you make!