I purchased a big board at a quilt show and love having it. I do have an issue with stuff accumulating on one end of the board. I do believe that they would be a fairly easy home project.

I use a June Taylor big board Ironing cover but never bought the board, just used a piece of plywood.

After seeing a Big Board for $100.00 in a catalog, my DH and I figured a way to make it for far less. That was about 15 years ago and it is still going strong. We used plywood, thick cotton batting and denim weight muslin. Then I used a nice cotton fabric as a cover. It's been changed several times. It is now on top of a dresser, perfect for ironing fabric from selvage to selvage.

Likewise. I leave mine set up all the time in my sewing room and sometimes have more than one project occupying space on the ironing board... since I have been working on a million small pieces for Bonnie Hunter's Allietare, I have also had my small cutting mat on one end. I'm so glad I made the investment.

I had to buy a separate ironing board and iron for my husband because he couldn't figure out how to iron his shirts on my big board. :rolleyes:

I am laughing :D. My son-in-law is going to make me one as a delayed Christmas gift. Last fall my daughter and I used one at a quilt retreat this fall. We turned to each other and said, "Bob could make one of these!" And now he is make two! Good guy! It will have guides on the bottom so it will be stable but will not be permanently attached to the ironing board itself. I am a very happy quilter.

My husband made one for my birthday a few years ago. He used furniture grade plywood, and I layered it with 2 layers of W/N batting and the silver ironing board fabric before topping it with 100% cotton home dec fabric. I love mine. We followed a tutorial found here on QB, and it just friction fits over the top of my regular board. Since making mine, 2 of my quilting buddies have asked for help making one. My friends picked out a lower grade (sheathing type plywood) for $20 per sheet and we had it cut to size at Home Depot. My DH screwed on the braces, and my friends and I did the 'upholstering' of the top. I don't think they notice the difference in the plywood, but I definitely notice that theirs don't seem to lay as flat.

I bought a big board at the quilt show in Suhumberg IL.

I have one of these boards. My husband and I made it following instructions from the internet. At first I had it over my regular ironing board. A while ago I saw a posting on the internet (perhaps this board) of putting the board on a small chest. The chest could be used for storage. Soon after seeing that posting I was at an auction and found a dinning room server which I thougt would be perfect. My husband put rollers on the server and now I can use it anywhere in the house. The drawers and space in the middle are perfect for storing quilting supplies. I use the board to iron just about everything. My regular ironing board is put away.

Can someone tell me why it rotates my photos when I upload them? Sorry the photo is so dark.

I have the same problem. I use it for storage and then when I have to press something, everything has to be cleared off. It was well worth the money and I love mine. One of these days I will clean up my sewing room and have a place for everything with everything in its place.

I've had the little Big Board since the mid 1990's and use it for all ironing, rotary cutting etc. My cutting mat just fits and being able to adjust the height definitely helps my cutting more accurately. I recently tried cutting with the mat on the sewing machine table and had much more difficulty using the rotary cutter. You definitely can make one yourself, but this was one of the best purchases I ever made both for ironing fabric, shirts, etc. and rotary cutting.