Today, I’m sharing my method of making a pressing board. I love it so much, that I think I may never use my ironing board, ever again! It’s perfect for quilters who want to press a block or a seam or to make some quick binding.
For the longest time, I’ve wanted a pressing board. Not anything too flash or high-tech – just a board that I could keep near my sewing table to whip out and use for a little job and then put away, just as easily.
The other day, hubby was heading to Bunnings (our local Hardware store chain) and I asked him to pick up a piece of plywood. I saw his eyes light up and I had visions of metres of plywood appearing out the back of the wagon. I decided to be more specific and asked him to bring a piece of plywood, no bigger than my cutting mat.
He came home with my piece of plywood and it was the perfect size for what I had envisioned.
I set to work making my pressing board. No time like the present, right?
Gather your bits and we’ll do it step by step – together. Sound good?
You will need:
A piece of plywood – whatever size you have available.
2 or 3 pieces of batting. The batting needs to be larger than the plywood board.
A piece of fabric of the outside of the pressing board. I used some home decor weight fabric from Ikea. It’s got a lovely retro 70’s look about it, which I love.
A staple gun with staples (my new favourite tool).
Some space on the floor to lay everything out.
The first step is to fold the batting around the board and staple it down with that magical staple gun.
The next step is to lay the outer fabric down on the board with the right side facing down.
Fold the top section down and staple it to the board.
Fold the bottom section of fabric up to the board, pulling it tight – but not too taught.
Staple this bottom section of fabric to the board.
Fold the sides over, tuck them under and then staple, staple, staple.
So about 8 minutes after starting, your pressing board should be assembled and ready to use.
If not, why not have a go at making one like this. You will love it – I’m absolutely sure of it!
For the longest time, I’ve wanted a pressing board. Not anything too flash or high-tech – just a board that I could keep near my sewing table to whip out and use for a little job and then put away, just as easily.
The other day, hubby was heading to Bunnings (our local Hardware store chain) and I asked him to pick up a piece of plywood. I saw his eyes light up and I had visions of metres of plywood appearing out the back of the wagon. I decided to be more specific and asked him to bring a piece of plywood, no bigger than my cutting mat.
He came home with my piece of plywood and it was the perfect size for what I had envisioned.
I set to work making my pressing board. No time like the present, right?
Do you want to make a pressing board of your own too?
Gather your bits and we’ll do it step by step – together. Sound good?
You will need:
A piece of plywood – whatever size you have available.
2 or 3 pieces of batting. The batting needs to be larger than the plywood board.
A piece of fabric of the outside of the pressing board. I used some home decor weight fabric from Ikea. It’s got a lovely retro 70’s look about it, which I love.
A staple gun with staples (my new favourite tool).
Some space on the floor to lay everything out.
The first step is to fold the batting around the board and staple it down with that magical staple gun.
The next step is to lay the outer fabric down on the board with the right side facing down.
Fold the top section down and staple it to the board.
Fold the bottom section of fabric up to the board, pulling it tight – but not too taught.
Staple this bottom section of fabric to the board.
Fold the sides over, tuck them under and then staple, staple, staple.
So about 8 minutes after starting, your pressing board should be assembled and ready to use.
Do you have a pressing board?
Thanks for the Tutorial I love a Staple Gun Too...
ReplyDeleteI'll be making a Pressing Board.
cheers
Maybe I need a staple gun! I need to make a small one of these for next to my machine but I also have a plan to make one big enough to fit on top of my ironing board and wide enough to take the full width of quilt fabric. That way it will be so much easier to iron my fabric and quilt tops because it will be square! I'll get to it one day!
ReplyDeleteGreat tutorial. I've been wanting to make one too. My friend has one and what she did that might be helpful, is she attached a handle (like for cabinet door) to one end to make it easy to carry to class.
ReplyDeleteWonderful idea ... now to get a staple gun!
ReplyDeleteI made one of these a while again as I was sick of trying to to a 20" applique block on a 11" wide ironing board. They are great. An extra tip cover the back with the grippy stuff that stops things sliding - that way is doesnt move at all when you are working on it. You can buy it by the roll at spotlight and you just staple on on the back - also makes the back look neat too!!
ReplyDeleteLove it -- thanks for the tutorial, every time I press on my new ironing board it gives under the pressure so I've been thinking a pressing board was the way to go! I'd even considered asking WM to make a wooden top for the old ironing board!
ReplyDeletea half sheet of OSB (oriented strand board) 2'x4' fits on the ironing board very nicely. The steam from an iron won't hurt or warp it and the glues are rated for indoor use per Sharon Schamber, an multi thousands of dollars award winning quilter. You can see her pressing board free video on you tube Sharon Schamber network. I have several sizes including a smal one by my sewing machine. I have a 12''x24'' and 36''x24'' that I put on top of my ironing board and then the 24''x48'' on top of that for perfect height. I can lay them all out on my peninsula in the kitchen when I have a really large piece to iron. I used canvas on the top so fabric doesn't slide,warm and a layer of natural batting so it makes a firm surface and and some felt on the back. Karol
ReplyDeleteI made one of these a while back, and quickly discovered the only downside is the difficulty of cleaning it due to the staples. I recently made a slipcover for mine with a flap that snaps shut, so when sticky little hands happen to touch it, I can just toss the cover in the wash!
ReplyDelete