Thanks for another great idea!! DH will have to ponder it for awhile, but he will do it for me sometime. Need to get moved first!!

I loved this idea so much, I made me one today.. cost me $22 total..I used the insulbrite, then Warm and Natural and then duck cloth.

Thank you so much for the idea (made me remember that I wanted one)

starting from the top and going down, what was the order of the layers?

Duck cloth
then Warm and Natural
then the Insulbrite

here's what it looks like...
http://www.quiltingboard.com/posts/list/22699.page

i love my board, but i put muslin on top. i don't have insulbrite on the bottom either. starting from the top mine is: good quality muslin, good wool blankets, then the wood. i had read that the wool was good because it absorbs the steam and allows it to go right through the fabric. but, i feel that the wool is too squishy and the muslin is too stretchy. so i want to redo the entire thing. and get it right this time from someone who has done it. inthe meantime, while i look for the insulbrite wide enough, i think i'll spray the top layer with water and maybe it will shrink in as it dries.

thanks for your help, tuesy.

I was walking through the laundry section at WalMart yesterday and they had a nice BIG ironing board for sale there.. I'm going to price it next time in and compare to making my own. They also have oversized board covers.

check the dimensions of the ironing boards AND the covers - they differ

Wonderful suggestions and ideas :D :D :D

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 like the removable covers that I can wash - mine gets scorchy marks and water marks and linty - especially if I've been cutting dark fabrics

maybe the rest of you are neater?

I hesitate to mention that it also gets furry once in a while, :-)