When we made my design wall, we made it out of z max insulation board from Home Depot. We covered it with batting (glued that on), then covered that with a very light tan flannel. It is 6ft x 6ft. Mine is big and plain looking too but the advantage to having made this type of design wall is I can use it as a bulliten board when not using it for quilting. I have photos of the grand kids up with stick pins. I also have pattern directions and fliers of quilt shows stuck up there. It is handy so I have somewhere to put that kind of thing and not forget where it went. It is nice to look up there when I am sewing and see photos of my grandkids! :o)

I used white anti pill fleece on mine.

I'm only looking to 'knock off' some of the sharpness. I would be happy with a kinda of antique white look. And I don't expect the vinyl to hold any of the dye or even tea stain - just the flannel fibers on the back. This is a large piece - about 86" wide by about 70" high so I was thinking about folding it over once and using the bathtub or folding it a couple of times and using a large bin we have for storing stuff in our motorhome. I like the tea dye idea, but it sure would take a lot of tea bags!!! I do have some scraps to play with, I'll try that first and let you know. I'm also wondering about using a spray bottle rather than soaking it. But I bet it would look splotchy if I did that.

Thanks for all your comments and help. This is a great board to get all kinds of information.

If you were just wanting to slightly darken it, I would think it wouldn't take much tea water to do that.
If you have access to a clothes line, spray it while it is hanging. A gallon of water and 3 tea bags would go a long way if you sprayed it on. The tea shouldn't hurt the grass any either. Using the same water throughout shouldn't make it splotchy, as it is going to run off, and not pool if it is hanging up.
Soaking it, it is going to try and float, the folds and creases could get less/more dye water depending on how it is laying in the water.

:thumbup: What amma said. :thumbup:

As I was reading this, subconciously I was thinking about the coffee stain on one of my blouses that won't wash out. I must have laughed in my coffe cup when I was reading the quiltingboard. If the tea doesn't stain dark enough make a pot of coffee and put that in the sprayer bottle. Hope you have enough pieces for a few test runs.

:thumbup: What amma said. :thumbup:

As I was reading this, subconciously I was thinking about the coffee stain on one of my blouses that won't wash out. I must have laughed in my coffe cup when I was reading the quiltingboard. If the tea doesn't stain dark enough make a pot of coffee and put that in the sprayer bottle. Hope you have enough pieces for a few test runs.

can you post a picture of your design wall, please

Karen: here's a pic of my cheap, but effective design wall. I used CommandPerformance hooks, a cafe curtain rod with extension, and a $5.00 double bed size flannel sheet from Walmart. I folded the top of the sheet over the rod and pinned it so I can make it longer if needed. My space is small so the sheet's folded in half (about 48" wide folded.) It's basic, but works for me. I made the OBW blocks and they looked fine on the work table but once they were up on the wall, I could tell there was no contrast. I'd love to have a larger and more permanent design wall but space is too small.

That's a neat idea Jan!