At our house, my sweetie irons. I do. not. iron. clothes. (unless I absolutely have to–say, when he is out of town). But, pressing fabric and seams is a part of quilting and sewing, and I have no problem with pressing. It’s ironing that I loathe. Who’s with me here?!?
Anyway, I’ve never particularly liked pressing fabric on a traditional ironing board; that tapered/pointed end is counter-productive. So I made myself a Big Board:
First, I bought a piece of MDF, and cut it to 17″ x 48″.
Then, I covered it with Bo-Nash Ironslide 2000 (if you don’t have this on your pressing station, do yourself a favor and get it! You can thank me later). This comes 19″ wide, hence why my board is cut to 17″. The IronSlide 2000 was attached to the MDF with it’s self stick backing (you could reinforce it with double stick tape, if desired).
Finally, I wrapped it with a piece of 54″ wide “PURE” canvas, by Sweetwater for Moda. This is then stapled into the MDF from the backside. I posted in detail here how I do this “wrap and staple step” to get a nice clean edge and tight corners.
The BIG Board sits atop the traditional ironing board, and greatly increases your surface area for pressing.
Here’s the finished product, modeled by my sweetie pressing a fat quarter, ’cause sometimes he does that for me, too. ;-)
My board is similar BUT does not come with anyone who would press fat quarters for me!!
That’s too bad, Mary, because that is a very handy feature.
Very cool! I may have to try this!
Thanks for the tutorial!! I am seeing an upcoming project for my husband to complement the mini pressing board he made for me. Btw…I don’t iron either…my mantra…I don’t sew, I quilt. I don’t iron, I press
And do you only have a kitchen because it came with the house? That’s what my aunt always tells people.
Haha! you sound like me, lady!
Love this! I was thinking of making one, too, after I saw a similar one at the spring retreat. I was wondering if the MDF was cheaper and lighter than plywood. I was going to make mine out of plywood. Where did you buy the MDF?
dont use plywood. i made a great big board for myself and it turned out so good! Until a little time passed and the ply wood warped. Now I’m trying to figure out how to make it out of materials that the big boards in quilt shows use.
You’re right, plywood will warp after time, but MDF does not, or at least will not with the IronSlide wrapped around it, which will protect it from moisture (steam) but it is also much denser than plywood.
That looks really great for quilt making! And I so agree – there is a HUGE difference between pressing and ironing. And a great guy who does ironing is the best – I know cause I have one too.
I’m gonna look into that ironslide stuff. I’m needing to make a new cover for my board. I used a drop cloth and I love it but it’s so beat up and worn it’s time to make a new one.
Thanks for the tutorial. What is the Bonash stuff? Can you explain why you like it so much? I want a big board. I hate ironing, too. I throw stuff in the dryer on “Wrinkle Release” whenever possible to avoid ironing! LOL. Try it! It works most of the time!
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