Best border fabric?

[C&K]

Well, not the best! But what sort of fabric should I use for the black border around my screen? I hear felt is good, but depending on what I can find I'd like a few more options in case there are any items on sale at the fabric store today.

[Rahl]

Velvet, heavy guage felt, flat black paint; in that order.

Here is mine (felt):

With camera flash:
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/phantomrahl/Picture013.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/phantomrahl/Picture001.jpg

[afx]

before building my first screen border, i read that velvetine (black, of course) was a really good material to use. so i went to the fabric store and looked at some of that. the price was a turn off, so i went with black felt.

i compared the two side by side in ambient light. they both have different textures, obviously. the felt is "fuzzier" thicker while the velvetine was more flat. however, i felt that the thickness of the felt absorbed the light better, whereas with the velvetine, it was flat and smooth and reflected the light in a certain angle. so for my first frame, i went with the felt and it was much cheaper.

i just finished building my 2nd screen last night and still used the felt frame because i felt it did a great job with my 1st frame. however, some weeks ago, i did buy velvetine since there was a sale for half off. i knew i was going to work on another masking system. i used felt for the masking system of my 1st frame. i'm sure velvetine will work just as well or even better, but this time, i'm using it because it just has a better look to it; because it isn't fuzzy like felt, it has well defined edges and looks professional.

so get velvetine if you can afford it. it shouldn't be that much if you're just making the frame. you may need more if you plan on masking and it depends on your screen size, of course. however, if it's too pricey, i think felt works just as well.

[erikm12]

I just looked up Velvet on the web and found a place that has it for $7.75 a yard at 44inch width. So if my math is right, I can get 3 yards for a 106" screen (96x56)
for about 25 bucks. Seems cheap to me. Is this the going rate?

[wbassett]

Velvet is definitely the nicest but there are other good materials too.

I have a test screen surface I use to test different painted methods. I found a very nice one I wanted to report on, but I didn't have a border to dress it up for some nice shots. I threw together a quick frame and wrapped it with black suede fabric I got at Walmart for a little over $2 a yard. I originally asked for black velvet but the girl said they didn't have any but people use the black suede all the time as a velvet alternative.

Velvet is undeniably a nicer fabric, but this worked out very nice for a fast and inexpensive border.

[camarillo_cinema]

The best material I've found is black velveteen.

Don

[Wet1]

Velvet is definitely the nicest but there are other good materials too.

I have a test screen surface I use to test different painted methods. I found a very nice one I wanted to report on, but I didn't have a border to dress it up for some nice shots. I threw together a quick frame and wrapped it with black suede fabric I got at Walmart for a little over $2 a yard. I originally asked for black velvet but the girl said they didn't have any but people use the black suede all the time as a velvet alternative.

Velvet is undeniably a nicer fabric, but this worked out very nice for a fast and inexpensive border.
Good idea, I had not thought of using suede (real or synthetic). I don't know how it would compare to velvet regarding function, but I think I might prefer the 'look' of a suede frame over velvet.

[wbassett]

If you have 'spill' then velvet is the only way to go that is for sure... and if you have the 50% off coupon it's pretty much a no brainer... I got this because I was throwing something together quick and I happened to be at Walmart shopping with my wife. The price was more than right and it worked out nice.

[Wet1]

Interesting. So the suede doesnt do a very good job of hiding the spill-over?

[wbassett]

It does, but not like a good quality velvet.

[C&K]

Thanks for all the suggestions!

I went with a felt that I found at Walmart. It is fuzzy but you can't really tell unless you look close. No screen tests as I haven't obtained my projector yet. But here are some photos of the screen itself.

http://img1.putfile.com/thumb/1/1414282256.jpg

http://img1.putfile.com/thumb/1/1414282191.jpg

[jimwhite]

note that Velveteen is probably a synthetic fiber and as such will most likely be more reflective than true Velvet.

:cool:

[camarillo_cinema]

I've played with a lot of masking materials, and the black velveteen seems to work the best. It has a nicer nap than velvet as well.

Don

[csmoyer26]

Im seriously thinking about using 3" wide duvetyne tape. I've never seen it, but am being told it looks similar to velveteen. Anyone know for sure?

[Flivver]

Another vote for velveteen

We used black cotton velveteen and spill over is virtually invisible. Some of the synthetics are too shiny. We paid $4.50 a running yard at a fabric store having a 50% off sale. That covered a wall 11' wide and 6'8" high, with most of the wall left bare behind a 9X5 screen.