How To Use Flannel In Quilting?

When you were younger, your teachers probably used those flannel storyboards to tell you stories.

For some inexplicable reason, having felt characters sewn onto a flannel board added a whole new layer of intrigue to the same old stories. In your current quilting projects, you can apply the same general principle.

Flannel boards are utilized by quilters in place of utilizing a cast of characters to tell a story through the arrangement of their quilting blocks.

Quilters may find that flannel boards of any size are useful to have on hand. In the quilt I’m currently working on, I use mine to hold patches in place. The one I have is about 18 inches in length and can be taken anywhere.

Because that is where I use it the most, keeping it close to my machine makes the most sense. However, given its size of 18 inches, it would not be difficult to move.

A flannel wall is a useful tool to have if you want to layout more than just one block at a time.

Getting a large piece of flannel at a low cost can be accomplished by purchasing a tablecloth with a flannel backing from a discount retailer. Choose one that has flannel on the back and is made of vinyl on the front.

Determine which wall will serve as the support for your large flannel board, as well as the size of the board you intend to use. If the dimensions of the table cloth are compatible with the size of the flannel board that you require, then you are ready to start the construction process. If the tablecloth is significantly larger than what you require, you can easily reduce its size by cutting it with scissors.

When you have the tablecloth cut to the desired dimensions, you can hang it up on the wall with the help of thumbtacks. The flannel backing of the tablecloth should be facing you, while the vinyl “top” of the tablecloth should be facing the wall. If you want to make sure that the tablecloth is stretched tightly enough against the wall, you might want to enlist the assistance of a friend for this project.

Additionally, flannel sheets are a wonderful option. They typically have a larger surface area than a tablecloth, and when they become soiled or tangled with numerous tiny threads, you can easily wash them in your machine.

Some quilters find that having a large flannel board gives them more flexibility when it comes to arranging their rows of quilt blocks and even their finished quilts.

This gives you a good idea of how your quilt will look once the blocks have been arranged in the proper pattern. This can be especially helpful for someone who is just starting out with quilting.

My flannel wall is one that will remain in my room permanently and was very simple to put together.

I used a white flannel sheet that was cut to fit a queen bed and had finished hems all around it.

After that, I creased it in such a way that it would hang almost all the way to the ground.

It has been washed a few times but, for the most part, it just hangs there with a variety of projects attached to it.

You are not restricted to using only white; you are free to choose any color you like. However, you should make sure to use a solid color because any pattern in the flannel will draw attention away from the quilt fabric and make the design more difficult to understand.

I hang it using a quilt hanger, and most of the time there are multiple projects hanging from it at the same time.

Many quilters prefer to lay out their quilt blocks on a bed or on the floor if they do not have enough room for a flannel wall in their sewing room.

You can use the leftover pieces of table cloth scraps for other projects, which is great if you hate throwing things away.

You could, for instance, cut a large piece out of it to use as a convenient carrier.

When you are not actively working on your quilt, lay your completed quilt blocks and patches on a large piece of fabric.

To keep everything safe until you can return to working on your project, roll up the piece of table cloth and secure it with a rubber band until you can get back to it.

When you are ready to quilt again, all you need to do is unroll it. One additional advantage is that none of your fabrics will need to be folded. Since they are rolled, there will be no creases that require pressing after they have been used.

You can also use the leftover pieces of your tablecloth to make a flannel board for a child or a grandchild. Flannel boards are a lot of fun. Help them make felt characters that they can use in their own stories if you are able to spend some time with them outside of the quilting process.

Alternately, you could make “paper” dolls out of felt and give them to the children so that they can play dress-up with their characters. You can inspire children to quilt by providing them with a variety of shape templates that can be arranged in their own unique patterns to create “quilt blocks.”

This article was generously provided by http://www.How-to-Quilt.com. Thank you!

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