I had bought a big piece of black felt material that use see in the big bolts.You can also get other colors if you want. The size is about as big as a king or queen bed and I just tacked it up on a wall that way you can work a small piece of your quilt or set the whole thing together up there to see what it looks like. And as for the loose threads I just take one of those rollers to clean them off of it.