Thread Rack Wall
How It Started
This project came from a fellow maker — a professional upholsterer who’s been dreaming about a big thread rack wall in their shop for years. They reached out and asked if I could make it happen.
We tossed some ideas around, and they sent me home with a couple spools of different sizes so I could figure something out. From the start, I knew this wasn’t just storage — it was about turning their shop wall into something that looked clean, worked hard, and made their everyday work easier.
Designing the Layout
I started by laying everything out on my shop floor with tape — hours of moving pieces around and scribbling thorough dash marks until it clicked. The goal was to fit 220 spools:
60 large
80 medium
80 small
But with a little tweaking and obsessing I decided go with a clean, sleek minimalist, design to maximize space , I managed to squeeze in 237 spools total — 17 more than the target — all in the same footprint.
What I ended up designing was three modular panels, each one carefully measured and laid out with:
Seven slats per panel tilted at 20° for visibility and stability.
Different dowel sizes for the large, medium, and small spools, spaced and staggered to get every inch of efficiency out of the wall.
Ascending spool sizes starting with heaviest at the bottom to minimize stress.
3/8” reveals between panels so it looks intentional, not crammed.
Monarch Z-clips mounted into wood backing for strength, giving a clean shadow line with depth and dimension, while keeping the panels flush and removable when needed
The Build & Finish
Once the layout was locked, I cut the slats, dowels, and runners, then assembled each panel. The whole rack got primed and finished with five coats of matte white — clean, simple, and durable enough for everyday shop life.
The Payoff
On install day, seeing the client’s reaction was the best part. They’d been waiting years to have this, and now they’re staring at it. It’s hard to describe how good it feels to use my skills and my head and my heart to help another creative build the shop they’ve been dreaming of.
Shops are special places — they’re where ideas turn into reality, and I’ve always loved seeing people take pride in their creative spaces. For me, the right wall or rack isn’t just storage; it’s the hub of the whole shop — everything you need, right at hand, ready to go. For this upholsterer, this wall is exactly that: Their version of a pegboard, built for the tools of their trade. Getting to build it and see their excitement was 1000% worth drilling 237 dowel holes… 472 because I pre-drilled every single one. But who’s counting?
