How do you create a basting wall? I think it's much easier than basting a large quilt on the floor, and end up with terrible backaches.

What is the material we use as backing for the wall? I've seen people laying newspapers as backing for a basting wall but I'm not sure if the newspapers are strong enough to hold up the weight of a large quilt.

Some use those insulation foam sheets, you can get them 1 or 2 inches thick and put newspapers over them. or cover with flannel for a design wall.

The newspaper isn't to hold up the quilt, but to protect the wall/design board from getting hit with any excess spray.

How do we fix the foam sheets to the wall?

Don't fasten them to the wall. If you get the 4x8 sheets, cover them with batting. You can just lean them against the wall and move them if you need to.

How to create a basting wall

Pasty Thompson gives an overview of her basting wall design and use in Free Motion Quilting, Beginner Tutorial #2 found on this page of her website. http://www.patsythompsondesigns.com/free-video/

I used two sheets of 2" thick rigid foam insulation for mine as I don't have it permanently adhered to a wall. I lean them at a slight angle against a wall in my basement but can move them to store between uses.

If I had the wall space I would use Patsy Thompson's method but I don't. So I am still looking to come up with a portable version. So far I haven't come up with a good plan. Right now I put a large sheet on my bed and spray baste my smaller quilts there. It works OK.

I am wanting to make a portable design wall, only about 48x48 ( I only make small quilts) Would the foam insulation boards work for this, or would it not be strong enough. I was thinking more of chipboard.

did a step by step tutorial on how I made mine. Sorry I'm linking to my personal website but it's in my signature already. I'm just not going to copy and paste everything here... http://yarn-or-fabric.weebly.com/1/p...sign-wall.html


Sall - I don't think the foam insulation boards are rigid enough unless you are going to be able to store them flat. They will sag if they aren't stored flat. You'll be able to lean them up against a wall when you use them but I'd suggest storing them somehow where they won't warp/sag.