gale

I have insul-brite and twill fabric. Should I put aluminum foil down first? An extra layer of warm & natural underneath? I can't remember what I've done in the past...

NJ Quilter

Sorry, but I just use an old towel folded over on my cutting table. If ironing large amounts of fabric, I use two towels unfolded.

Prism99

For quilting, it's generally considered best to have a fairly solid surface (not too soft) in order to get crisp seams. Sharon Schamber has several Youtube videos that show how to make a pressing board. You could use the same information for your ironing board. Here's a link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LGbXou_u4c

I would not use insul-brite at all. I made my "big board" with one layer of Warm and Natural covered with a layer of coarse cotton fabric (sorry, forgot the name; it's inexpensive at Walmart).

LivelyLady

I made mine the same as Prism99 three years ago and just this year put another heavy cotton fabric (from Walmart, too) over the old fabric.

Jackie Spencer

There is a tutorial on Missouri star, on how to make one also.

AliKat

Sharon Schamber also has a video on how to make an ironing surface.

Your ironing surface should not be very padded. No need for insulbright.

Dina

Mine is covered with Warm and Natural and then just regular fabric. Works just right for me.

Dina

gale

My old board had warm and natural plus fabric on it. Eventually it needed replaced. In the meantime I had read that insul-brite reflects the heat back up and improves ironing so when I replaced the covers, I added insul-brite and could really tell the difference in pressing. So I will use the insul-brite but will skip any extra batting. I thought I read something about adding aluminum foil but maybe I was mistaken. So I'll skip that. thanks!

ube quilting

I like a hard surface to iron and press on. It has more stability and makes it easier to press. This may be an old wives tale but years ago I heard a tip about those metallic covers. The source stated that if you are not careful they can scorch the fabric because they reflect the heat back into the fabric and super heat it.

I have always liked using plain duck cloth for my covers with two layers of W&N batting under it and pulled very tight. It works for me.

I don't know if metallic covers actually will scorch fabric but the theory seems logical, and if you like to iron with a very hot setting how much are you really increasing the temp and the amount of time you leave the iron in place?

Oh! It just gets more confusing!
peace

feffertim

I made mine with a big towel covered with a layer of Warm & Natural, and then a pretty cotton cover. It works great.[ATTACH=CONFIG]462355[/ATTACH]