Every day for the past couple of years, I've looked at the drab blue cover that came with the ironing board and thought that someday I'd find something more attractive. That day finally arrived over the weekend when I decided to make my own ironing board cover.
The old ironing board cover was a basic blue cotton that was getting threadbare so it was finally time — not just out of aesthetics but out of necessity — to replace it. As this is an over-the-door ironing board, it was difficult to find a replacement cover so I opted to go the DIY route instead.
First I removed the cover from the ironing board. Then, I started by removing the stitches around the edge of the old cover. This allowed me to remove the drawstring which keeps the cover attached to the ironing board. After I had removed the stitches and the drawstring, I was able to use the old cover as a pattern for the new one. I pinned the old cover to the new fabric and cut.
Once I had the new cover cut out, I pinned the drawstring in. Once pinned, I stitched around the edges. And that, ladies and gentlemen, was all it took to make a new ironing board cover.
When I put the new cover on the ironing board, and especially after experiencing how ridiculously easy it was to make, I wondered why I hadn't done it sooner!
Images: Jason Loper
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I've done this to resuscitate a great vintage sleeve ironing board (indispensable if you sew). I used some classic plaid fabric I had in my fabric pile. Once I left the iron sitting on it too long and it scorched straight through. Lesson I learned? Since "cotton" is the highest setting on the iron, next time I'll use a heavy, 100% cotton fabric for this project.
TJ Maxx has some wonderful covers for $8.99
You've got to be very careful with the fabric you select to do this as many cotton fabrics are subject to crocking - that is, the dyes will rub off and you could end up with a ruined garment. In addition, because they have not been treated, they will absorb starch, steam and therefore stains.
In addition, the stiff grey covers have aluminum embedded in the fabric to reflect the heat and moisture from your iron back up to your garment - Without this reflective property, you'll need higher heat on your iron.
I have that same ironing board!
I have the same board as well; since it's not the full size, you can't get ANY replacement covers at T.J. Maxx or anywhere else. Well done!
@ bepsf- I wanted to make one, but was worried about the same issues- colorfastness,etc. Do you think an outdoor fabric (like Sunbrella) would work for this?
Watch for colorfast fabric.
You could have saved a little time by not removing the stitching from the old cover and just cutting the new one bigger to allow for turning the edge under. Then stitch the casing and thread the drawstring through the casing with a large safety pin.
By the way, linen has a slightly higher scorching point than cotton. Drawbacks: costs more than cotton and colors and prints are much more limited.
You can try using something like Insul-Bright under the fabric to reflect the heat back. (You can read about it here: http://www.warmcompany.com/ibpage.html)
A little batting is nice too to give the top more padding and make it easier to iron things with curves or shaping.
"Do you think an outdoor fabric (like Sunbrella) would work for this?"
I'd be wary of that - since as a synthetic, it may be prone to melting under the heat of a hot iron.
I personally use a self-adhesive ironing board cover - It's not the prettiest thing, but it never slips and has worked great for 10 years:
http://www.bing.com/shopping/search?q=Bo-Nash+IronSlide+2000+Ironing+Board+Cover+&mkt=en-US&FORM=BPFD
"IronSlide 2000 Ironing Board Cover-19""X59"
"Cut your ironing time in half. The Stick N Fit cover is made from a fabric that reflects the heat of your iron back to the garment effectively ironing both sides at one. Fits any size board and comes with its own foam pad. Reflects 300% more heat than a regular cotton cover and stays put! Resists burning and scorching."