felt is very washable. my last sewing room my design wall was dark brown felt glued with elmers to card board that my new refrigerater was packed in when delivered. we then bolted it to wall of sewing room. it was up for 13 years, i cleaned it with a clothing lint brush. when i took it down in preperation to move, the cardboard and felt were the biggest job of the move. it was almost indestructable. i don't have a sewing room in current home and have black felt hung over deck doors of dining room where i sew. hem at top and bottom. hooks at top for hanging & hardware store wooden dowel in bottom to make it hang down straight. i have another large piece of felt that i use to take with to sew group meets and when sewing with a friend at her house. it's gotten rather dirty thrown in back of truck, so i washed it in machine on gentle cycle. worked fine, it's been washed several times. it shrinks, probably fades, tho doesn't look it & i didn't check. i started using felt before the books were telling design walls should be flannel or batt. it was an idea i had that was affordable & it works great!

my plan is to use foam boards when i get basement done to use for sewing. where did you find 96" wide felt? i've only ever found the 72" wide.

I don't have a permanent design wall yet. I use a thin wool ARC blanket & everything sticks to that just great. I toss it in the wash plenty often because I also like how warm it is in winter. As long as you're not putting it in hot water or high heat, it should hold up fine. By the time it's felt, the wool fibers have already shrunk & condensed, so they're actually less prone to shrinkage than regular wool.

I just washed mine. It's flannel.

I'm using an old plushy-type mattress pad which works well. I think it's poly.

I use a big sheet of batting. Flannel has worked too, but the batting hasn't let anything slip down.

I have felt and it works great, came from JoAnn's, bought 2 yards. Mine is hanging loose.

I use warm and natural (I needed the 90" width and did not want a seam)-- have had it for over 15 years and the only issue is it collects threads. It moved with no problems -- DSIL built it for me out of foam insulation and a 1x2 frame and it is awesome.

i guess i'm the only one using an old flannel sheet? works great...

Cotton batting or flannel has what I call "an affinity" for other cottons, such as blocks. Most blocks will pretty much stick there when slapped on a design wall. I have had much less success with felt or other synthetic fabrics or fibers because the cottons don't stick well to them.

Jan in VA