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Time for me to start thinking about skirting for my layout.  Since my fascia is going to be flat black I also want the skirting to be black.  What material and method did you use?  Do you have a source for made to order skirting?  Please post pictures if possible.

Thanks in advance.

 

 

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Layout Skirting

When the layout was moved to the new train/media/audio room 5 years ago it was put on legs at 35 inches above the floor.  This height was found to be good for operating and viewing from standing or sitting on a stool.  Since the train room does not have a closet or storage room the space below the train layout is used for storage of LP records, spare stereo gear, etc.  This makes for a messy looking area.  It was decided to make a cloth skirt to hide the mess.

Some dark inexpensive material was purchased at Jo Ann’s or another cloth store.  Enough was purchased to make skirt for the whole perimeter around the layout.  Skirting was made for the most visible ends of the “L” and the sides where the control panels are.  It was not made at this time for the less visible sides facing the two walls with the train shelves.  This also provides easier access to the boxes of LP records stored under the layout.

The skirt is made using simple panels 6 inches wide with 2 inch pleats.  A 5 inch hem was sewn on the bottom and a 1 inch hem was sewn on the top.  The skirt was held to back side off the 1x6 base boards around the layout with thumb tacks or push pins. The skirt is sized to hang about ½ inch off of the carpet.  It was made in panels large enough to cover each straight side or end with about 2 feet extra to overlap and not leave any gaps.  Believe it or not I sewed the skirt with my wife’s help threading the sewing machine.

IMG_0743

 

IMG_0784

 

IMG_0744

Pleats would be better sharper if I had ironed them !

 

 

It turned out the layout would be an eye sore without the skirt hiding the storage mess under the layout.  It is more convinent to access the LPs under the layout with out the skirt on the backside.

IMG_0787

 


Charlie

Last edited by Choo Choo Charlie

Black landscape mat works fine and is inexpensive.  Not my choice for a finished layout but I used it on a few temp jobs and it looks great. 

Inexpensive and I just stapled gunned it to the under side of the fascia.

Cabinet style fronts on magnetic latches are great too.  Only did one of these but it was really nice for a solid look that was quick to remove.

What ever you do use a solid dark color.  This brings the eyes to the trains instead of the skirting.  

Last edited by jhz563

I use a matching skirt to the train room window.  I purchased this combination at a large brand name department store.

1 Skirt Table

This is a large window in a window well. I built this addition to our home in 1997.  The home was built in 1936 and is on Michigan’s Register of Historic Homes.   This was required by local building codes and is a fire escape.

2 Skirt Table

This is the main section showing the matching skirt.

3 Skirt Table

The east end turn around section

4 Front view hook

The front view of the hanger. 1/2 inch pvc pipe.

5 Side view hook

Side view of the hook.  This is a long threaded hook. This thread hook can be adjusted to level the PVC Pipe.

Hope this helps and thanks for taking a look.  Gary

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Images (5)
  • 1 Skirt Table
  • 2 Skirt Table
  • 3 Skirt Table
  • 4 Front view hook
  • 5 Side view hook
jhz563 posted:

Black landscape mat works fine and is inexpensive.  Not my choice for a finished layout but I used it on a few temp jobs and it looks great. 

Inexpensive and I just stapled gunned it to the under side of the fascia.

Cabinet style fronts on magnetic latches are great too.  Only did one of these but it was really nice for a solid look that was quick to remove.

What ever you do use a solid dark color.  This brings the eyes to the trains instead of the skirting.  

I did use landscape fabric for my skirting. Can't beat the cost, especially with a couple hundred feet needing to be done. There is one minor drawback with it, and that is it's a bit stiff, and doesn't like to hang in a "re;axed" way. It seems like every time you touch it, you have to go back and adjust it.

Because the fascia on my layout has a lot of curves, I created my own rail to hang the skirting from, using 3/4" plywood strips for the straight parts, and laminations of 1/4"  Luan plywood for the curves. Here we are gluing up a curved rail.

IMG_8756

This section is ready for fabric.

IMG_8761

We just stapled the fabric directly to the rail, adding pleats along the way.

IMG_8793IMG_8794

Attachments

Images (4)
  • IMG_8793
  • IMG_8794
  • IMG_8761
  • IMG_8756
Mo985 posted:

I ordered two 14' long premade table skirts from Amazon. They have Velcro already sewn along the top edge, so I just stapled the matching side to the facia. They are currently $18 ea.

Here is my previous post with pictures

What Mo said.... all of my layouts (and my modular one too) use pre-made velcro-ed banquet table skirts.  They are only available at a fixed height of about 29" but that works for many installations.  You can custom order different lengths but the cost skyrockets.  If you need shorter, just get someone who sews to hem 'em.

You can buy long rolls of the matching velcro at Amazon too.

Last edited by eddiem

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