Wire-Supported Fabric Fence Panels: Easy Outdoor Upgrade

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Railings with large open sections or widely spaced slats may look nice on your porch or deck. However, they have a few downsides — including reduced privacy, safety concerns and low wind blockage. Address all of these problems at once with wire-supported fabric panels! We used Phifertex® Standard Vinyl Mesh Fabric and stainless steel wire to create sleek, stylish panels for a deck. We'll show you how you can do the same over the course of a few evenings or a weekend.
Video Chapters:
  • Installing Eye Bolts — 1:06 min.
  • Measuring — 2:41 min.
  • Cutting Fabric to Size — 3:26 min.
  • Hemming Vertical Sides — 5:22 min.
  • Creating Hollow at Top & Bottom Edges — 6:39 min.
  • Creating Sleeves for Wire at Top & Bottom Edges — 10:13 min.
  • Sewing Around Edges — 12:01 min.
  • Installing Fabric Railing Panel — 14:13 min.
  • Tensioning Fabric Railing Panel — 18:49 min.
Materials List:
  • Turned Lag Eye Bolt 5/16" x 3" (Stainless Steel) (#120657) — 4 each per panel
  • Phifertex® Standard Vinyl Mesh 54" Fabric (we used Navy Blue, #395111) — 1 yard per 36 inches of cut length
  • Seamstick 1/4" Basting Tape for Canvas & Upholstery (36 yds.) (#122065) — 1 roll makes four 8-foot-long panels
  • 7x7 Wire Rope 3/32" x 30' (Stainless Steel) (#122694) — (finished length + 30 inches) x 2 per panel
  • PremoBond® Tex 70 (V-69) UV Bonded Polyester Thread 4 oz. (1,350 yds.) (we used Black, #124737)
  • Nicopress® Sleeves 3/32" (Zinc-Plated Copper) (#23102) — 4 per panel
Tools List:
  • Scribe-All® Water Soluble White Marking Pencil (#120681)
  • Gingher® Scissors Right Hand Lightweight 8" (#101017)
  • Sailrite® Edge Cordless Hotknife 18V Package (#122177)
  • Precision Cutting Blade & Foot for Edge Hotknife (#125495)
  • Sailrite® Canvas Patterning Ruler(#107040)
  • Wire Rope Hand Cutting Tool (#123477)
  • Sailrite® Deluxe Fabricator® Sewing Machine Package (110V) (#400600).
  • Suisei Magnetic Sewing Guide (#102983)
  • Wire Rope Crimping Tool for Oval Sleeves (#123468)
  • Drill, Drill Bits, Screwdriver, T-square, Straightedge, Tape Measure, PVC Pipe, Heat Shrink Tubing 5/16" x 1-1/2”, Long Nose Locking Pliers, Heat Gun
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This project involves installing hardware in your deck and in the fabric panels. If you don’t usually do DIYs with wire rope, bolts and other hardware pieces, don’t be intimidated! Our project experts will show you exactly what you need and how to install it in this thorough project video. When you’re done with your panels, you won’t believe how easy it actually was to work with the new tools and hardware pieces this project calls for!

You’ll also learn how to add hollow to fabric panels in this DIY. “Hollow” refers to an inward-curving section where a portion of material has been removed from the edge of a fabric panel. This feature is a must for tension assemblies like these mesh fence panels. If you don’t create hollow on panel edges that will be under tension, you won’t be able to tension them enough — leaving you with loose fence panels. We’ll explain more about why hollow is important in the video. 

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We used heat shrink tubing and a heat gun to protect the ends of our wire rope.

Whether you’re making and installing these panels by yourself or with another person, we’ll be with you every step of the way — from measuring your deck posts to tensioning your panels. Ready to tackle this easy outdoor upgrade? Watch the video now to get started. 

A nice thing about this project is that you don’t have to use the same fabric we did — you should pick a fabric that will meet your unique needs for fence screening. We want to know what you used! Did you choose an open mesh that offers more visibility and airflow like we did? Or did you opt for a more tightly woven mesh or outdoor canvas for more privacy and better wind blockage? Tell us in the comments below what material you chose for your DIY fence panels and why.

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