Why Use a Digital Quilt Design Wall in Affinity Designer

Part 2 of the Affinity for Quilters Series

If you’ve ever wished for a larger design wall so you can see your quilt layout before you sew it, a digital design wall inside Affinity Designer can give you exactly that. You can size it to match your quilt intent, place blocks, experiment with layouts, and make confident design decisions before you cut fabric.

In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to build a digital design wall using an art board template, how to adjust grid spacing for your quilt size, and how to save that design wall as a preset you can reuse again and again.

Watch the Video Tutorial

If you prefer to watch the full walk‑through, here is the video:

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What Is a Digital Quilt Design Wall?

A digital design wall is simply a larger art board inside Affinity Designer that reflects the full size of the quilt you want to design. Instead of working only on individual blocks, you can see the entire layout, how the blocks relate to each other, the spacing between them, and how sashing or borders might look in context.

Step‑by‑Step: Create Your Quilt Design Wall

1. Open Your Block Template

Begin by opening the template you created in Part 1. This should be your 12‑inch quilt block setup. If the tool panels are not visible,

go to Window > Studio > Quilt Studio to bring them back into view.

Zoom out using the zoom tool so you can see the art board clearly before creating your larger design wall.

2. Duplicate and Resize the Art board

To build the design wall:

• Select the art board and press Command + J (Mac) or Ctrl + J (Windows) to duplicate it.

• Use the Move tool to drag the duplicated art board into a clear area.

• With it still selected, open the Transform panel.

• Rename this art board to something descriptive such as “80in design wall” by double clicking on The label Art board 1 or directly on the layers panel.

• Set its dimensions to match your intended quilt size (for example, 80 inches by 80 inches).

3. Adjust the Grid for Quilt Layout

The regular block grid is useful for block creation, but for a full quilt you want larger, evenly spaced lines that reflect your quilt layout:

• Go to View > Grids and Axis.

• Choose Advanced to see full settings.

• In the grid section, set Spacing to the number of blocks you want across (for example, 24).

• Set Divisions to the same number (for example, 24).

• Set the Gutter value to your desired spacing between blocks (for example, 2.5 inches).

• Make sure Show Access Editing Handles is enabled so you can reposition the grid if needed.

4. Center the Grid

Sometimes the auto‑generated grid will not sit exactly where you want it relative to the art board. To adjust it:

• With the Select tool active, go back to View > Grids and Axis.

• Hover over the grid until you see the crosshair cursor.

• Drag the grid so that it is more centred within your art board.

5. Save the Design Wall as a Preset

Once your design wall grid is set up:

• Open the snapping/grid panel.

• Click on the preset dropdown.

• Select Create Preset

• Name it something like “80x80 Quilt Wall with 2.5 sashing".

• Save and close the panel.

This preset will now be available whenever you need a design wall for similarly sized quilts.

6. Using Assets on the Design Wall

You can now place, drag, and snap quilt blocks or shapes onto your design wall using assets you’ve created or imported (like half‑square triangles, flying geese, or blocks). The snapping grid will help you position them accurately.

If you need to duplicate and move multiple elements, use the Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) key with the Select tool to drag groups of blocks where you want them.

7. Evaluate Backgrounds, Sashing, and Borders

With your blocks placed, you can evaluate the look of background fabrics, sashing widths, and border placement. Select a large rectangle behind your blocks and use the colour picker to try different background and sashing colours until you find a look that suits your quilt.

If you want a fast preview, export a quick PDF of the design wall to see how everything reads together at full size.

Final Thoughts

By creating a digital quilt design wall that matches the size of your intended quilt, you gain the freedom to experiment with block arrangements, spacing, and colour before you cut fabric. Saving this as a preset means you can reuse it for future quilts without repeating the setup process.

If you’d like a printable cheat sheet to help you with grid and preset setup, you’ll find it in the resource hub. I’ve also added several free patterns and pantographs that work well with digital design.

Resources and Next Steps

Join the Quilty Hub to get access to freebies, cheat sheets, and resources for modern quilt designers.

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