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.
i tried the spray - dry method and for now it really worked. but i consider it a temporary fix because it will stretch every time i use it, won't it? i think i'll go ahead and get the silver stuff.