ManiacQuilter2

The only trouble with using batting over flannel is the ease of getting all those threads off your "design wall". I would NEVER get my batting clean while the flannel on my 1" insulation is so easy to clean with one of those lint rollers. I work with tiny pieces when I work on a Bargello pattern and it is so convenient to be able to stick a pin into the insulation. I realize not all of you have a room for a large design wall.

Dina

Mine is sort of portable. It is one of those pink insulation boards covered in Warm and Natural Batting that I attached with duck tape. I think it is 4 feet wide and six feet tall, as I cut two feet off the top, thinking it would lean on my closet doors better. My original intent was to slide it behind the door to the room when I wasn't using it, but turns out I am always using it.

I am going to take a picture in case that helps. My blocks cling well to the batting, and I have never even tried to get the threads off that linger. I even read somewhere that one quilter's granddaughter had vacuumed them off, trying to be helpful, and blocks never stuck well again.

Okay, I said that blocks stick, and they do, but I have pinned some of these strips up because I don't want to take the chance that gravity might win and thus mess up my order.

I have used this design wall for 3 years with no problems. I don't know how I quilted without it. I wish it was a bit bigger, but I have a small room. This is as big as I am comfortable with. (Ha, I just took two pictures, and I had to stand out in the hall to get far enough back to get all of it, but you get the picture. My current quilt is hanging off the left, and my husband walked by, and seeing that I really need a bigger design wall, suggested that we make another one that slides behind this one and I can pull it out when I need it. Hadn't thought of that, and I vote yes!!)

Dina

RST

A nice aspect of using the pink (or blue) insulation panels from the hardware store covered with felt or flannel is that they are heat tolerant, so you can actually iron on the design wall (if it is securely mounted to your wall). I often find that handy when I'm working with a pieced backing-- very large to manage on an ironing board. I also sometimes can layer and baste a smaller project on the design wall, as I find it easier to work on a vertical surface than to crawl around on the floor.

Deb watkins

I did the same - only with blue foam board from Lowe"s! Works very very well! Since it is LARGE, I can put a couple of projects on at the same time.