The first quilt that I worked on I sprayed starch directly on the pieces on my ironing board. I ended up replacing the cover. Ever since then I have a small end table beside my iron board that I put a towel over. I spray the pieces on the towel now. If the pieces are longer like binding, I put the towel on the carpet to make a bigger area to spray. The towel is much easier to wash than my ironing board cover.