Jennifer Rapacki Sewing Studio Tour: 2 Ways to Create a Design Wall

When I moved back to Colorado in 2018 after 20 years in California, one of the features I wanted for a house was a walk-out basement so I could create a light-filled sewing studio. And I lucked out and got just that. I’ve created a video tour of my studio to show you how I’m set up to work.

I have 2 types of design walls in my studio. The first is sliding doors in front of bookcases that I created for my sewing room in California, where I didn’t have space for a more traditional design wall. I saw this idea in a magazine. 

There is a 1x 6 x 96 inch board across the top of the bookcases with a closet door rail attached to it. The doors are made from birch plywood with 1-inch insulation board glued to it, then covered in flannel. We used 1-inch trim strips to secure the flannel because we found duct tape didn’t stick well to the fabric and the wood. The hardware for the doors was attached such that both doors roll along the same side of the door rail, so they meet to form a larger surface.  

In my current Studio, I have room for an 8 x 8 foot design wall. This wall was created with 2 insulation boards, each 1.5 inches thick. First, I duct taped the boards together. Then I wrapped the boards with batting and duct taped that to the back. Then the last layer is flannel, also duct taped to the back. That was a lot of duct tape!

The design wall just sits on the carpet.  Because there were 2 outlets that would be behind the design wall that I knew I would want to have use of, I added two extension cords before my husband secured the design wall to the wall with screws along the top.  

I love having such a large surface to work on.  It also makes photographing my quilts much easier.

Check out my Creative Spark lectures! 

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Jennifer Rapacki's journey into the world of technology began amidst the dawn of the PC revolution, where her innate talent for swiftly grasping new computer software and concepts paved the way for a rich and diverse career in Computer Information Systems. Jennifer's commitment to empowering fellow quilters extends beyond the digital realm. Alongside her computer quilt design workshops using Photoshop Elements, Electric Quilt, and FraxHD