Monday, June 23, 2014

Scrappy Happy Summer Sew Along - My Design Boards Tutorial! ...


Over the weekend I made a few more of my
 design boards for our 


YaY!!!


Because we are making my 
Scrappy Happy block in 4 sizes…
I thought I needed a few more boards:)

I've been going to make a really large one 
ever since I saw that Hobby Lobby now has
the foam core boards in extra
30" x 40" gia -bungo size!!!


I bought 2 of them and made one large one…
 and then cut the other one into;
2 - 20" squares
4 - 10" squares


Even though I already have 6 of the 10" size…
I was needing more because not only
 do I use them for small blocks…
I use them when cutting to keep my
 pieces separated and organized.
I also stack them on top of each other after they have
 the cut pieces on them to save counter space:)


So now I have a total of ten small ones…
I know they will come in sew handy 
and that I will use them every day!


Just to show you how large the biggest one really is…
I took a pic of my new boards next to my machine.
(i made the green rectangle one a few months ago:)
The large one fits there perfectly on my counter.
It's really going to come in handy when designing 
little quilts or the 24" Scrappy Happy blocks:)


The two 20" square ones are perfect when 
making the 12" or 18" Scrappy Happy blocks:)
And also…
because they are the same size,
I can sandwich my finished blocks between them 
for protection when traveling to Sew Day or retreat!


Of course I will use all of my design boards…
old and new together.
One can never have too many:)
You can see that the new boards are
 clean white and thread free…
that won't last for long! (hehe)


Each board size serves its own purpose …
depending on the project I am making.

I wanted to post about these for this weeks
Scrappy Happy Summer post…
to encourage you to make some 
for yourself if you haven't yet…
and to make more if you already have!


These design boards are so easy to make…
and useful in "sew" many ways.
I promise that once you have used them…
you will wonder what you ever did without them!
They are also a good way to use up some leftover 
batting and 2 1/2" strips in your stash:)


 for my tutorial on how to make them
 and how and why I use them.

I also did a YouTube tutorial 
on them a long time ago.
 if you want to see that as well.


If you haven't joined the 
Scrappy Happy Summer Sew Along yet…
to add photos of your design boards…
we all want to see!

I'll be back next Monday with a new project
for the sew along!
Have a quilty kind of summer…
xx
Lori

P.S.For those of you who have already 
made my design boards
I'd love to hear what you think of them!
It just might help those who haven't yet 
made one realize how helpful they are!:)



14 comments:

Deb Fox-McHugh said...

I made some of them in the 10 inch size last year when I came across your tutorial on Pinterest. I always have friends asking me to make one for them too! They are so useful.

Little Quiltsong said...

Love my design boards!! Perfect for laying out my block pieces while sewing them into blocks, but also to 'store' my monthly or weekly Sew-Alongs blocks till ready to sew these blocks together into a quilt. I just couldn't be without them! Mine are not as pretty - as I never 'enclosed' them with pretty fabric, (couldn't decide on what fabric to use at the beginning and so it just got left), but I love them this way and maybe someday I will 'enclose' them too.

Christy said...

I love using the design boards. It makes moving blocks from the cutting table to the sewing table easy and error free. Best idea ever!

robinh said...

I have made several...some with the binding and some not...and LOVE them. During the school year, when I am working, from time to time I cut out a lot of blocks and stack them up,to sew when I have time...the goal being daily, reality...not so much. I used to use cardboard, but worried it would stain fabric if left too long. Thanks for the idea!

Renea said...

I love my design board. I belong to a small, informal quilting group of 10 ladies. I made a design board for each of them and they all love it. I love your largest design board. I am going to make one as I do not have a design wall in my sewing room and this would be great to size to have when I want to lay out a small quilt. Thanks for all the inspiration you provide me. I love your fabric, rulers and your blog.

Christa Marcotte said...

I have made 4 small ones and love them I need to make some of the other sizes especially one of the large ones!! Thanks for the tutorial. Love them!!!!

Billy'sgirl said...

I made 2 "15x20" inch design boards, and I use them constantly. They are great when I just want to lay out my blocks, to store them for my next quilting day. They are also very helpful to keep small pieces from disappearing!
I do think I could use a few small ones, and maybe a much larger one, so I can play with designs.

Block Talk said...

I made four design walls and then my daughter appeared and now there are none. So I'm making more! My binding is scrappy, I used left over binding pieces. Best idea yet! Thanks!

Cecelia said...

I seen your tutorial on YouTube. It started out I needle one for your Millie's Dress pattern and the I needed other sizes. Love them!!!! Lori, your spoiling us, with all your wonderful projects!!! I'm looking so forward to our summer sew along!!! Thank you!!! XXXX Cecelia

Chrissi said...

I made the quilters in the family (Mom, 2 aunts and 1 uncle!) a set of design boards for Christmas last year. They LOVE them! I have also made one for each of a group that goes to retreat every year and put your instructions with them so they can make their own sets! Several of them have made them and use them regularly! The only person that doesn't have a set is ME! I was so busy making them for everyone I didn't make any for myself! But I recently cut the strips for the 'binding' and have my boards and flannel cut and ready to glue down! Thanks for sharing the tutorial!!

Chrissi said...

I made the quilters in the family (Mom, 2 aunts and 1 uncle!) a set of design boards for Christmas last year. They LOVE them! I have also made one for each of a group that goes to retreat every year and put your instructions with them so they can make their own sets! Several of them have made them and use them regularly! The only person that doesn't have a set is ME! I was so busy making them for everyone I didn't make any for myself! But I recently cut the strips for the 'binding' and have my boards and flannel cut and ready to glue down! Thanks for sharing the tutorial!!

Amy DeCesare said...

I made a set of these little design boards last summer, and they are extremely functional. Also, they make me smile every time I see them, with their snazzy borders. They make it even more fun to sew, knowing I'm less likely to make mistakes or lose little pieces.

Sue said...

Love your boards. I have a question. Where did you get your blue cutting board. I have looked everywhere. I am tired of green and am seeing a few colored ones but no one has answered my question about where they got it. It's sooo pretty!
Thank you!

Marsha said...

I made 6 of them and use them all the time for my wishes quilt. One of them is keeping my cross stitched piece nice and neat after pressing until it goes to the framers. I want some bigger ones now.

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