Forgive me if this has been suggested, because I have not read all the posts.

It was suggested to me that I should get 1 1/2 yds of warm and natural batting, fold it in to a thickness of four, and use that to iron my fabric on a table. LOVE IT! I can fold it and put it away and don't need anything large and bulky in my sewing room. I actually put it on my cutting table.

Diane

Now that the discussion of ironing boards has come up, I have one that is the opposite of the large ones. A handy sm. one.

My most used ironing board is made from the cardboard that fabric bolts come on. The ones that are still solid & not the recent ones that just fold. I cover them with one or two layers of InsulBrite. I glue it along the edge & not in the center. Then I wrap it with a sturdy fabric. I use a hot glue gun to overlap it along one long edge.

Then trim narrow ends so they'll turn over neatly then use the glue gun again to secure it.

Gluing down the center would be a mess if you hit that side with the iron. Ask me how I discovered that. Duuh.

I decided to take pix to help it make sense. I find this pc. to be invaluable & have made them for friends.

When it gets ugly from spray starch or gets burned after awhile, I just add another layer of fabric & glue it down. Looks new again.

I took a cardboard bolt that was empty and covered it with batting and some heavy material. I use it for small items when doing blocks. It's a little long but fits rather well on my sewing table. I need to replace it though and the ideas here are great! Now I just need more room! LOL...

Pat G, great idea for a smaller iron surface. Just super ideas for ironing boards. Yes, I agree with, I need more space too for the larger iron area.

I am happy with my regular ironing board and steamer for yard goods, but I was so impressed by what Bella Boo, Marguerita, and others said about using a small firm board for pieces, blocks, applique, etc., that I made one this morning. Thanks for the great tip!

Bessie,

Are you saving the picture AFTER it is rotated? If you don't save it and give it another name, (or choose "save changes" to the original file name), it will revert back to it's original position.

If you open the photo named "Ironing board" and needs to be rotated, then rotate, then choose FILE, SAVE AS, give it a new name like "Ironing Board 1" and save it. Then open again to see if it fixed the problem.

Hope that helped.

Diane

Sandy, I right-clicked on the photo but there was no "rotate" option. Is it possible that that option only comes up as members are trying to submit a photo to the Board?

I got a pocket door from the landlord. I covered that with batting and musline. It works great. gives me plenty of room for fabric and I can lay a cutting mat on top to. I put this over my cutting table. works like a dream, and it was free. :D The landlord thought I was nuts. but he did not have to hall it to the dump. It is so funny how you see a use for everything when other people thinks its junk. God bless. Penny

question for those of you making your own big boards and the cabinets they are on- what is the height and what type of cabinet did you use. i was looking for a dresser, but found that they were either too low or too high. mine should be about 38 or 39 inches. and then i thought i didn't want drawers but would prefer cubby holes. i'd like the board to be removable for storing because of limited space. what do you think?

Thank you very much and I hope this works for me the next time.

Thank you for posting it properly. So much easier to view. With others posting suggestions, I believe my problem was that I was not saving it. Will try this next time. Again, many thanks.

Doesn't look like anyone answered you - so I will try.

My work work is on cabinets. They are 34 1/2" tall plus I have them set up on 2" bricks (to give me a little head start in case there's *any issues with water* in the basement). So it's 36 1/2". I do stand on a couple of folded up rugs to cushion my feet and legs (hate cold concrete) and make up the 2 extra inches. It's just like your kitchen cabinets (if they're 34 1/2" tall + your countertop (1 1/2") = 36"). Measure your kitchen.

My BIG BOARD is used on top of my ironing board for ironing fabrics. I LOWER the board a couple of inches from it's highest position so my ironing arm shoulder does not have to lift up when I iron. Hope that made sense.? Trying to get ergonomically correct and take it easy on a sore shoulder.

Hope that helps you.

My neighbor gave me the cardboard thing to use as an ironing board, I havent' done anything with it yet. Will have to try what you did and see how that works! Thanks!

My dh made me a big board!!! Love it and love him!

Quiltinghere, thank you for responding. So far I haven't done anything on the ironing board. I'm working on getting my stash cut into strips,FQ,FE,and on boards in my shelves- otherwise I wouldn't have room for a big board. Will probably have someone make me a cabinet, but I'll have to design it myself.

My husband made this ironing board top that fits over my regular Ironing board. I rarely take it off, but if I want to use the regular one, I just lift it off. As you can see my Nique loves to be on it. Thanks for those lint removers!

Well I feel bad I just use the ironing board. It takes a long time but it works. I quess I am going to have to make ne one. Thank you

Gosh I just love your beaut. cat. I had to give up on cats yrs. ago since they didn't set well with my husb. He loved my little 6# Pekingese though. I'll bet your cat sheds just as much as my Peke though.

Thank you, I think she is beautiful also. Yes, yes, yes, she is a shedder!!!!

I have a male cat,Bailey, that looks just like your cat. When I can, I'll post a picture of him on this thread.

Oh Oh you just made the lite bulb light up for me.....I am running out of rm and need a extention table for my already lg cutting table, if i make this ironing board it could also double for the sewing extention- Thank-you!

Great, I would love to see him.

i finally remembered to post a picture of Bailey. he is now 11.

Oh my...they could pass for brother and sister. What a beautiful cat. I love his name.

Thanks. He actually is named after a character from "Party of Five"-we were into that show at the time. lol

I also made my own BIG BOARD. Saw one in a quilting mag many years ago for $50. I made mine 20" X 48" out of plywood, put some sort of felt batting and a cover on it. I made it with guides on the under side to the size of my ironing board so it doesn't move. It can be lifted off very easy. I wish I had made it a little bigger. Hope this helps.

I also put my big board on my very large dining room table to iron really big quilts.

just a word of warning do not do what i do this large empty surface becomes -ill just put it here for a minit--i am in the process of clearing out my sewing room now i cant acctally see my ironong top??????? but i found it so helpfull when i could use it