DH cut me a piece of thick plywood the size I wanted to fit my table. I put one layer of cotton batting and then covered it with cotton canvas. I stapled it tight to the back of the wood. Then I sprayed the cloth with water and let it dry. The water made the batting and cotton cloth shrink and the cover tightened to a very smooth finish. Sharon Schamber showed how to do make the perfect ironing surface doing it this way. A soft surface is not a quilter's friend.