I got a piece of plywood the size I wanted. I had my husband attach strips of wood to the back size so it would fit on my ironing board and not slip off. I then took cotton batting and covered the board. I found a tightly woven fabric from the discount bins at the fabric store and covered the whole thing. With my husbands help, we stapled the batting and cloth to the back of the board. Now when I want to use it I just put it on top of my ironing board and go to work. I can stand it on end when I am not using it as an ironing board and pin blocks to it as a layout help. It is not expensive and easy to use.