Did you know that fabric sticks to flannel? This never really occurred to me until I saw some awesome sewing and quilting studios that incorporated a design wall into their space. A design wall allows you to to lay out fabric and play with quilt blocks until you find the perfect arrangement! It’s a super helpful tool when laying out a design for your next project.

Here’s a couple of shots of my sewing space before. I knew I needed something in the far corner, but I didn’t know what to put there. Once I started thinking about a design wall, I knew it was the perfect place!

Here’s how you can make your own. It’s easy and cheap! Two of the best things when making crafty projects 🙂

Materials needed:

• foam core board – found at craft or office supply stores.
• flannel
• staple gun with 1/4 inch staples
• packing tape or duct tape

Steps:

1. First, measure your space to see what size design wall you can make. I had a long narrow corner of the wall that I wanted to utilize, so I used two foam core boards stacked on top of each other. I found mine at Hobby Lobby, and they were 32 x 40 inches each.

2. Next, determine how much flannel you need to cover your board. My design wall is about 7 feet tall, so I bought 2 and half yards of flannel. If you are making a wall that is wider than the flannel, simply sew a couple of pieces together to fit.

3. Tape the foam core boards together.

4. Attach the flannel to the board by pulling it taught, and stapling around the edge with a staple gun. 1/4 inch staples worked well for me – do not use long staples or you’ll go all the way through the board! If you have a wider board, some spray adhesive may be helpful during this step. Cut off the excess fabric on the back.

5. The foam core board and flannel are so lightweight, I simply nailed through all four corners and in the middle of both sides to hold it in place on the wall.

And you’re done!

It is so, so helpful as a quilter and sewer to be able to simply stick some fabric or block on the wall, and then be able to rearrange and move them around. It really helps you perfect your design!