I have tried flannel and its OK but the best design board is made from headliner fabric, purchased in the home dec dept of Hancock's. You don't have to use pins, blocks "stick" and stay. I have a quilt I'm working on slowly and the blocks have been on the headliner attached to my wall for at least two months and not a single block has become loose. I also have a second design board made of the insulation board from Home Depot. You can pin things up on it.