Originally Posted by
Gabrielle's Mimi
Something to think about when making your own boards: I went to a workshop years ago with Sharon Schamber. She sold small ironing boards that her husband had made. They were just wood with heavy natural-color canvas or duck cloth stapled to it. They have no padding, and therefore no "give" at all. The reason she leaves out the padding is she believes that too much "give" allows the block to become distorted when pressing. It took me a while to get used to the idea of such a hard ironing board, but now when I used the boards at my LQS which have multiple layers of ironing board covers on them, I can see exactly what she was talking about.
My BIG board and small boards only have one layer of batting and a cover sheet on them...can't go without a tiny bit of something. I've tried other boards with lots of 'cushy give' and didn't like them at all.
Make sure your small board is big enough and sturdy enough to hold your iron without falling over and large enough to press at least a 12 1/2" block.
Nan