How to Make A Custom Ironing Board Cover!

Ironing and ironing boards are not exactly exciting topics!

Actually.....I don't do a lot of actual clothes ironing....but if you sew....you have to iron!
My Grandma told me (correctly) that the iron was the MOST important sewing notion!


I will say that crafting and sewing take a real toll on an ironing board cover!

Yikes....this is seriously ugly!  I am not sure what the red stuff is....and the scorch marks were getting pretty bad.


















It was actually getting so bad that I was laying down a protective tea towel when I ironed anything "nice"!

It was obviously time for a new ironing board cover! Because our ironing board is one of those "in the wall" built ins, it is kind of hard to find a cover that fits exactly. The ones for this model cost about $20 and come in GRAY or GRAY!  You know....that shiny gray metal color that is soooo attractive!


The easy.....and I do mean easy....solution to this "critical problem" is to make your own!
I am laughing as I write this because the "tutorial" is so classic "Sweetwater Style"!  It is a case of "just do it" and "use what you have"....come along and see!

I had a piece of sturdy navy and white ticking.  This will go nicely with the blue and white craft room floor and stand up well to any "ironing abuse" I can throw at it!

I traced the shape of the ironing board on paper....really rough...by just running a pencil around the edge!

I added 3 inches all the way around and cut it out!

I used the serger to finish the raw edge...but you could just turn this edge under and press it inside.
Then I made a 1 inch casing by pressing in the whole outer edge except a spot at the back. (Because of the way my board is designed...I leave the whole back without the casing)
 This is where the ironing part of sewing comes in!  Pressing down those little tucks around the top of the board makes stitching the casing a lot easier!

The next step is inserting some sort of sturdy string into the casing.

I "used what I had"!  This jute twine is nice and strong.....

That funny looking "pin" is called a BODKIN!  You don't need one....a safety pin will work...but you know how fancy we are here at Sweetwater!

Actually....this tool really does make pulling strings or elastic through casings and they only cost a couple of dollars.

Push the string all the way from one end of the casing to the other.






Leave a whole lot of extra string on either end.

This will make it easier to pull the cover tight when it is on the board.


I added a layer of fiberfill batting to the top of the board....not necessary if your padding is in good shape!

 By the way.....I didn't take the old cover off!

If I decide the batting is too soft, the old cover will be a good solid base!


Now it is just a matter of putting the new cover on the board and pulling the cord tight.

You will have to pull pretty hard to gather the edge securely around the board....which is why you need a sturdy cord in the casing!


Tie a knot or a bow and you now have a wonderful new ironing board cover!


For almost no cost.....just a small depletion of my "fabric stash"....now I have a great looking new ironing board and I don't have to cringe whenever I iron!  However....Mr. S is going to cringe when he sees the messy background in this photo!  What can I say.....I was focused on the project!

Have A Wonderful Day!

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