Advice for making pressing board
 

I'm going to tackle making a pressing board cover for my ironing board. I'm sort of following along with this tutorial: http://childlikefascination.com/2014...ga-pressboard/

I've looked at a couple others as well and none seem to mention pre-washing the canvas. The tutorial above recommends spraying it with water to shrink it up after attaching it to the board.

So for anyone who has made this, am I correct in not pre-washing the canvas? Would I shrink it too much early on by a team ironing it to get it nice and flat for attachment? Thanks for any input!

I followed Sharon Schamber's video with one exception. I used shelf liner for the back
instead of felt. You don't have to pre-wash the canvas. After you've covered the board
you spray the canvas with water and let it dry overnight. That's how it will shrink to
the board.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LGbXou_u4c

Personally, I wouldn't steam it to get rid of any wrinkles. I would do what I could with a dry iron to tame them first though. I haven't actually done this yet though.

Thanks all! I'd been looking at that video too. Will try dry iron and no pre wash and let you all know how it goes.

I didn't use canvas on the small one I made for classes. Good luck with your project.

I made one Sharon Schamber's way using a kitchen cutting board. Good cutting boards are made from the best wood and are resistant to warping. I find a lot of them at yard sales and thrift stores.

I cover mine with the silvery teflon ironing board fabric bought online or from Joannes. Because it heats the teflon under your fabric, you get heat from both sides of your piecing this way.

Thank you all! I think it turned out quite well. I gave the pieces a brief dry, low-heat iron but that was it. It came out surprisingly smooth and after spraying it with water and letting it shrink up some it got even better. I am trying to get a picture but it is tough because of the size (I made mine 19x48).
Jan, I will have to look for that fabric. I plan to make some smaller ones now for keeping next to my machine, etc.