Tuesday, December 15, 2015

BIG BOARD

Even though my ironing board is a big one (TWSS) I still need more ironing room.  I saw a big, rectangular ironing board at the The Quilt Zoo last week.

"Oh I NEED one of these!"

"Yup, two by four sheet of plywood, two layers of batting and some muslin," advised Bonnie.  "When the muslin wears out, just put on a new piece."

I got to it yesterday.  Steven has a collection of scrap wood and we rummaged through to find just the right piece.

"I think half inch plywood will be strong enough." I said, eyeing a very nice specimen of  1/2 inch interior grade AC plywood.

"Okey doke." replied Steven as he set up the saw horses and hauled out the circular saw. I trekked back upstairs to continue cutting up scraps. 

Only a few minutes later I heard the door to the loft open.  "I need you to come check this out."

That lovely piece of plywood was warped.  "I don't think you will want to use it.  The 5/8 inch of CDX  (which had knots on both sides) is much straighter."

He had to re-glue one edge but within an hour it was ready.

I have some Insul Brite  batting.  I have had it for years.  I keep thinking I might make pot holders or lunch bags one day.  Originally I bought it to make insulated shades but decided to go with  Warm Windows instead.  Even as I pulled the Insul Brite  out of the cabinet I hesitated.  What if I really do get to those pot holders?  Oh shut up, my more sensible self chimed in, it's been fifteen years.

So I cut the piece to fit, stapled it to the board with the shiny side toward the wood not knowing if it makes a difference or not.
I added a piece of batting next and then picked out some canvas from my stash.  I don't have any muslin and I figured canvas would last a bit longer anyway.

I serged all the edges of the canvas and wrapped it around the board.  I made a hem to slip over the nose of the ironing board.  Then I used some vintage ironing board "stays" to secure the canvas to the board.  Since they run under the actual ironing board, they serve a dual purpose.

 I love it. 

6 comments:

  1. Oh, Please, can I have one for Christmas? I am always craving more real estate when ironing. Hate the narrow end- everything falls off.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I believe all the big ones are warped- TWSS indeed!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have one of those old fashioned ironing boards with a crank underneath to go from tapered tip end to a squared off end. Works great but yours looks like it's much wider, too. Great idea!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hubby made me a wood top for an ironing board (even screwed it to a new ironing board base, with holes in the top of the ironing board). I had bought some 'non-stick' teflon fabric to cover it with, but, now I can't find the teflon fabric, so, the poor ironing board is sitting, neglected, in the basement. Hopefully I'll find that teflon after the holidays. Enjoy that new ironing surface.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This won't help you, since yours is already done; however, my first layer against the board is a layer of heavy duty aluminum foil. Next, I use old raggedy bath sheets. Sometimes I add a layer of warm N Natural batting. My favorite final layer is a piece of the "astronaut fabric" sold by a lady in CA because it reflects even more of the heat--although I have used insul-brite for small boards.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Canvas is great because you spray it with water and it gets nice and tight. Sharon Schamber has a nice video tutorial on youtube. :-)

    ReplyDelete