PVC Quilting Frame

Quilting has a rich history in the United States. In fact, one might argue that in many ways quilting is unique to the United States. Whatever the case may be,

there is a fond appreciation for the beautiful works done by quilters. Our family has a beautiful quilt that hangs in the family room which is a one-of-a-kind

representation of so much family history and values. Quilts have a special way of strumming our heart strings and soothing our soul. Believe it or not, the tools necessary for making quilts are not very complicated. However, having a frame or device to hold the material is essential. In this article I will show you a way to make an inexpensive quilting frame using PVC pipe, fittings, and Snap Clamps. This project should cost no more than $70. If you use extra pipe you have laying around the house, even less. Even better is that the frame should take less than an hour to build. The best part about all of these PVC projects is that you can make them to your own specifications. The quilt frame in this DIY is a little over 2 feet tall (at the front), 2 feet deep, and 3 feet wide making it perfect size for most people and most applications. It also features a gradual tilt towards the user and a clear entry for pulling a chair into it.

Here's a list of what you will need for this project.

a. (26 feet) - 1 inch PVC pipe (3 pcs @ 3 feet long) (6 pcs @ 2 feet long) (2 pcs @ 2.5 feet long)

b. (4 pcs) - 1 inch Ell fitting (Item #113)

c. (2 pcs) - 1 inch Slip Tee (Item #63)

d. (4 pcs) - 1 inch 3 way L (Item #33)

e. (2 pcs) - 1 inch 03-EZ Snap Clamps (Item #03-EZ)

After you cut your lengths of PVC pipe, most of the work is finished. While you're still at the saw, grab those 4 foot Snap Clamps and cut one in half and with the other one cut two 16 inch pieces. These will be for clamping the material to your frame. Now, attach the fittings to your pipe as shown in the picture. As you can see the 3-Way Ls will be used on the top plane to attach the top surface to the legs and base. The 90 degree Ells will be used on the bottom end to attach the cross members. The Slip Tees attach the front to back lateral supports to the legs. Use the longer 2.5 foot lengths for the rear legs and the 2 foot pieces for the front legs to allow for a tilt towards the user.

Using your leftover pipe you can even make a Small 10 inch hand frame (pictured below). For this I simply used four 90 degree Ells and the leftover pipe cut into sections of 8 inches. Then I used the left over EZ-Snap Clamps to cut four inch sections to hold the material. This is handy for smaller projects or for sitting back on the couch and working on your quilt.

If you have any questions about this project please give us a call. To order your PVC supplies please visit our online store. Please let us know what you think and submit your own ideas to be posted on our PVC plans website. To see what other plans and ideas we have please click the button below to view our ideas page.