Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Tentest Design wall

Sometimes you need something more substantial than a flannel design wall. Those are great for block placement, but what if you want to add embellishments?.....you can not easily audition beads, buttons or found objects in an upright position.  
I thought you would like to see what I use. At the lumber store, I purchased a sheet of "Tentest", I bought a 4'x8' sheet and asked them to cut it down to a more manageable 4'x6' size

close up of the cut end
This product is a fibrous board, also great for use as a bulletin board. It is sturdy, fairly lightweight and pins into very easily. I took an inexpensive bed-sheet and essentially made a large pillowcase out of it to slip right over the whole piece....I can use both sides if I want to.

4'x6' covered Tentest
 You can pin just about anything to this, so now, you can quickly see how the addition of  various embellishments will look......walk away, step back and assess before making a commitment.







11 comments:

B J Elder said...

Great idea! Thanks. I love that you have it where you can use both sides.

Clare Wassermann said...

Ahhh yes and I see how it so easily slips into your kitchen drawer when not in use!

Diane J. Evans said...

Now I'm certain that we're sisters from a different mother -- I've done the same thing with insulation board, and you're right -- it's simply wonderful. And so portable.

Diane

Denise :) said...

Fascinating! :)

Jackie said...

Great, i have just told my husband I must have this for my embellishments=)))

landscapelady said...

I also use insulation board (8 bucks at lowes for a 4x8 piece) which I cut in half. I like the pillowcase idea, I tried staples but it didn't work well, then duct tape, but why not get a sheet - better. I end up pinning everything anyway, have found flannel doesn't hold things all that well.

You may laugh, but I have a fairly large bathroom, so I put my (or one) design wall on the wall in there farthest from the toilet, so every time I sit - I look at what I'm working on. It works great:-)

landscapelady said...

I also use insulation board (8 bucks at lowes for a 4x8 piece) which I cut in half. I like the pillowcase idea, I tried staples but it didn't work well, then duct tape, but why not get a sheet - better. I end up pinning everything anyway, have found flannel doesn't hold things all that well.

You may laugh, but I have a fairly large bathroom, so I put my (or one) design wall on the wall in there farthest from the toilet, so every time I sit - I look at what I'm working on. It works great:-)

sewnut said...

A large design/audition space is very useful. I put 3 panels of 2' x 8' (1" thick) styrofoam panels on my wall and covered with wide width flannel. If it was not attached to the wall, I would not have a place to store it.

I like the two sided option you have though!!!

Createology said...

Another great and practical idea from your clever studio. Thank you very much for sharing.

Geoffrey Dow said...

Hi Jill, I came upon your blog because I was searching for an image of (guess what?) tentest! And I am writing to ask your permission to use your first image (the close-up of a piece of tentest) in my own blog, https://papazesser.ca. The specific article is at

Quilt Rat said...

Hello, Geoffrey Dow, I had no way to email you (you are set as “no reply” ). so hopefully you will see my response here.
YES feel free to use the image you are asking about.

Copyright Jill Buckley