How to Build a Folding Quilting Table

A quilting table, most often called a quilting frame, requires the ability to touch both the underside and top of the quilt at the same time to complete the rocking motion of the needle. While stationary frames allow for this, they can be bulky and take up valuable floor space in your home, even when not in use. By building a folding quilting frame you can quilt when your project is ready and store the frame away when space is needed.

4 boards, 2 by 2 inches, 30 inches tall
Tape measure
Pencil
Drill with 3/8-inch bit
2 bolts, 3/8-inch wide, 5 inches long
6 wing nuts, 3/8-inch
2 leather strips, 1-inch wide, 22 inches long
4 finishing nails
2 boards, 2 by 2 inches
Handsaw
Thumbtacks
4 screw eyes, 4.5 by 3/8 inches

Instructions

- 1
  Stack two of the 30-inch boards on top of one another. Locate the center of the boards, 15 inches in from each end. Drill a hole through both boards. Slip a bolt through the hole and cap the bolt with a wing nut to hold the boards together. Repeat with the other two 30-inch boards.
- 2
  Lay the leg units down on a flat surface side by side, with the wing nuts facing inward. One end is the top, and one end is the bottom. Drill a hole along the top of each board 1 inch down from the end of the board.
- 3
  Open one of the leg units with the wing nut facing down to make an “X” shape. Space the undrilled ends, or feet, 18 inches apart. Lay a leather strip horizontally across the bottom so each end of the strip rests near the base of the feet. Attach the leather strip to the feet with a finishing nail. Repeat this step with the other leg unit and leather strip.
- 4
  Measure the width of your quilt and add 1 foot. Measure and cut the remaining 2-by-2-inch boards to this size.
- 5
  Mark the end of a board with a spot 2 inches in from the end, 4 inches in from the end and 6 inches in to form a series of three points. Rotate the board a quarter turn and mark the adjacent side in the same manner. Drill holes through all six marked points, allowing the holes to cross in the center of the board. Repeat this step on the other end of this board and on both ends of the other board.
- 6
  Lay out one of the drilled boards. Align a width edge of your basted quilt to the board. Push thumbtacks through the backing fabric and into the board every 6 inches. Roll the quilt up on the board until only 1 foot of the quilt remains. Attach this end of the quilt to the other board with thumbtacks.
- 7
  Open the leg units and stand them upright with the wing nuts facing in and the drilled ends extending up. Space the legs far enough apart that the quilt would fit between them. Move the boards, which hold the quilt, to rest in the crotch of the two Xs.
- 8
  Align the drilled holes on the board that holds the smallest amount of the quilt to the hole on the closest leg units. Drop a screw eye through the hole in the quilt board and leg unit to connect the boards and secure with a wing nut. Repeat this with the other end of the same board to attach it to the other leg unit.
- 9
  Unroll the quilt board, which holds the majority of the quilt, to show about 18 inches of the quilt. Align the board’s drilled holes with the holes in the leg units. Drop screw eyes through the holes to hold the quilt, but do not place the wing nuts yet.
- 10
  Check the tension on the quilt to make sure the fabric is not pulled stiffly, tight or drooping. Pull out the screw eyes and roll or unroll the second quilt board to adjust the tension, if needed. Replace the screw eyes when satisfied and secure with wing nuts. Fold the leg units to store.

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