Design Wall

 I want to show off my new design wall. Of course, I should have taken pictures with it empty and a step-by-step, but I didn't think about it at the time...

For years I've used an old flannel sheet, hung by needles. I taped down the edges in spots with painter's tape. It was about 6' x 6', I think. My dream was to cover some ceiling panels with flannel and tack or glue them to the wall, but that wasn't getting done very quickly.

About a month ago, I saw a 72 x 72" felt design wall on sale, for $30 or $40 which turned on a light bulb in my head.

Why didn't I just buy felt yardage and tack it up on my wall? I wanted something larger than 72 x 72". So, I ordered 2.5 yards of white 72" wide felt. I cut it 84" long and tacked it on the wall around 3 sides--you can see the right side in the first picture. The tacks are about 6" apart.  I originally thought I would add another 12" to the bottom, but as you can tell, I can't access that part anyway, so didn't do that. I did tack the bottom corners and a few places across the bottom to keep the felt flat.

You can also see that I have starting trimming the edges. We originally thought we would get a wood strip to put across the top, but then I couldn't hang fabric on the wood, so my husband said, "Why don't you use fabric for the trim? Then you can use the entire surface." What a smart guy!! I have black felt, so I cut 3" strips of black and taped them up with painter's tape (what would we do without that stuff???).

Here's the completed design wall. The top edge is against the ceiling and the right side is in the corner. It is 84" wide and 72" tall. I think it's going to be great!

The quilt top in process on it will be going to my nephew who is a middle school math teacher. There are some blocks with kids, some with sneakers, and some with math symbols amidst all the colors. He knows nothing about it, so I sure hope he likes it when I give it to him!! I already know how I want to quilt it, so stay tuned.