Not long before Christmas I picked up a small ironing board at a garage sale for the grand total of $1, it was the perfect size for bringing into the kitchen and ironing on the worktop whilst I watch the kids (Or more truthfully, for when I’ve piled fabric on top of the full size ironing board in my sewing room and I’m forced to start moving stuff into the rest of the house to have space to actually create, but if anyone asks, I’m sticking with the kids excuse!).

It took me about fifteen minutes to make, and totally transformed my cheap little ironing board, from a stained, burnt mess with no padding to speak of, to an awesome feature of my sewing room – and the themed fabric totally makes it for me!

You Will Need

• Your ironing board – this same method can work for both small and full size ironing boards.
• Elastic – enough to reach two thirds of the way around your ironing board.
• Cotton fabric.
• If you need to replace the padding as well then you’ll need either cotton batting or a replacement felt padding – they’re about $15 at Bunnings or another home store.

Full tutorial behind the jump…

1. Flip your ironing board over and trace around the outside onto your batting or replacement felt. I’m using remnants of a felt pad that I zig zagged together after using the majority of it for a full size ironing board. If you’re using batting I would recommend 3-4 layers.

2. Create the shape for your cotton cover using your cut batting as a template, just add an extra 8cm all the way around – it doesn’t have to be exact! Cut along your drawn line.

3.Zig zag or overlock around the edge of your cover. Fold over 1cm and stitch to create a channel for your elastic. Don’t forget to leave a few centimetres gap to thread the elastic.

4. Using a safety pin thread your elastic all the way around the cover. Knot securely and stitch the hole closed.

5. Slip your cover on and stand back and bask in your awesomeness. The fit should be nice and close with no movement as you iron – if there is any then unpick the channel and tighten the elastic slightly.

The world is your oyster, so long as it’s 100% cotton you can use any fabric you like to cover your ironing board so you can perfectly co-ordinate your cover with your sewing room or (heaven forbid!) laundry.

I now need to update my iron to go with my sweet new cover, but this one has served me so well for so many years now that I’d feel guilty getting rid of her. Does anyone have any recommendations for awesome irons for quilters?