I Failed... or Did I?

Yesterday's plan of getting that quilt off my design wall was a major fail! I got busy doing a furniture shuffle in my little sewing room. I ended up rearranging the desks into a "U" shaped configuration. Previously the massive wood office desk was sitting in the middle of the room like an island. The other 3 tables formed an "L" against one wall. The island work center worked well except that the room felt crowded and I had to walk across the room and around the desk to the ironing board, which usually sat in front of the design wall.

This is what it looks like now:

Doesn't it look more efficient? Now I can wheel myself around to each "station" without having to get up and walk around. Much more efficient for working on projects. More efficient for building up that Quilter's Butt. Maybe not so efficient for burning calories! Good thing my BFF is keeping me on track with our morning runs.

What's that? You want to know about my new ironing board?

I'll tell you how to make your own. You'll need: Plywood, batting, fabric, and a heavy duty staple gun

Here's how I made mine:

First I ran down stairs to Mr. PD's workshop, which I recently cleaned for him (only because I have to walk through that room every time we go or come back from somewhere and because I was tired of tripping over extension cords in the dark.) I figured he owed me, so I helped myself to his stash. He better not get any ideas about helping himself to my stash though! I looked around and spotted a piece of plywood that was the perfect size so I didn't even have to cut it down. My piece of plywood measures 30"x36" but you can use any size that will work for your space. You can even make a mini one for your mini iron!

Then I lugged the plywood upstairs and gathered the rest of my supplies. You'll need a thin batting (I used some Warm N' Natural) and a piece of fabric that is about 1.5" bigger than your board on each side. So my fabric and batting measured approximately 33"x39"

Regular iron board covers are pretty fluffy and there is quite a bit of give when you press down on the surface.. I've heard it's easier to get crisp seams if you have a harder surface. That is why I used a thin batting and only one layer of it.

Next you will lay your batting on top of your board. make sure it lays nice and flat. Then lay your fabric on top of the batting, again making sure it lays nice and flat. Now flip the whole thing over onto the back side of the board. A few pins placed in the corners will keep the fabric and batting from shifting as you flip the whole thing over.

The last step is to stretch the fabric and batting taught as you tack it down with your staple gun every 4"-6". Here's a picture of how I did my corners.

Now flip it over and you're done!

One note, make sure you are using plywood and not OSB/particle board! MDF is probably ok.

~Norma