hey thanks for the comments, you guys! I've been away from cyberspace celebrating the holidays and eating way too much food, candy, etc ... it was nice to come back and see your posts ... and thanks John and Brian for hosting this site... I'm glad to finally be a part of it.
Emeric ...
the cotton batting isn't actually fastened to the particle-board at all. It's wrapped in kind of a fabric cocoon, and only the fabric is held to the particle-board with two plastic strips that run the length (vertically) of the gobo. These plastic strips are in the shape of a "T" ... and there's about a 1/8" groove cut the length of the wood on each side of the batting. The fabric is crammed into this groove and the plastic "T" is crammed in over top of that and stapled every 3 feet or so. You can actually lift the middle of the batting (at the top) and feel the particle board underneath (a great place to hide your stash).
I didn't make these gobos ... I rescued them from the dumpster behind an 'audiophile' store a while back ... so I hope that explains it. I've been thinking of making a couple more for myself ... but I'd rather concentrate on fixing the room itself, instead.
Anyway, thanks again for the comments. I really appreciate it.