Ironing board cover?
 

I was wonder how many of you wash your ironing board cover...crazy question I know..

It seems mine get to looking pretty bad after just a few months and then I am tempted to buy a new one.. I get more burn marks from to hot of a iron or leaving it on the board to long..I end up putting a cotton towel over it and pinning it under the board.

when I do wash it, it usually comes out all distorted and I have a hard time putting it back on, I end up buying a new one anyway.. LOL

So how many of you wash your cover or just get a new one..

Funny question I know

I make a new one every few years.

Cari

I must admit I just buy a new one.

me too. i have used the old one as a pattern to make a new one. i've also just sewn a clean piece of fabric to the old one because i didn't want to mess with the draw cord. sometimes i see an ironing board in the thrift store and the price is less than buying a new cover

I really need to make a new one! Present one looks soooo sad... Don't get it out very often. Hate to iron (except in sewing room)! My Mom used to love to iron. I remember when a kid, she'd iron for public ($1.25 a dozen-stiff white dress shirts, blue jeans with crease in front) just to give us little change money... I have a hamper my Dad made that is full. Ugh!!! If able today, she'd be doing it but she has severe demenutia (misspelled)... Love her...

I keep a muslin or flannel cover cloth on mine and just wash that. They get saturated with Best Press and become stiff as a board.

One tip if you do wash it. Don't dry it, put it on the board wet. It's easier to put on and tighten. Once dry it will form a tight fit.

I usually buy one. Recently I have started using large binder clips to clip a beach towel to the ironing board. The beach towel doesn't cover the point of the board so that's where I sit the iron down. I wash the towel each week when I do laundry.

I buy a fresh cover -- the plain white canvas-type cloth. When I use starch, I spread a clean piece of muslin over the ironing board to protect the cover. Then I can throw that piece of muslin in the wash.

I have one of those larger rectangle June Taylor ironing covers with the padding so I am not sure if they are washable. Using Tartan's suggestion of putting freezer paper on when starching!

well I got my answer.. HaHa.. some real good tips on to wash or not ... Thanks..

Now I don't feel so bad that I buy so many covers..Thanks

I have three to change them out when they need it. I made them all except one which is a silver metal type I like to use when piecing. It radiates the heat back up to hold the creases in better when I have to iron the seams open for tricky blocks.

I made mine from the Teflon ironing board cloth. I usually just wipe it down with an old terry cloth until it comes clean. I got the crazy idea to wash it in the machine; it didn't shrink but the cloth was so wrinkled that I had to iron it several times and it doesn't look like it's going to hold up very well.

Thanks for reminding me, it's time to make a new cover for my ironing board. I just ordered three yards of a couple of pretty blue fabrics from Marshall's Dry Goods. I bought a little extra to go into my scrappy quilts I'm making.

I've never had any luck with washing them. I do buy the reversible covers as they are only 50% more, but last twice as long (since you can flip them over when one side gets too grimy). I use a LOT of starch, so I have taken to tossing a sheet over the ironing board so the cover doesn't get too grimy. I used to iron freezer paper onto my ironing board when working with fusible products, but then I got some instructions about that it's better to iron on a flat piece of wood, covered with a brown grocery sack. So that's what I do now. I take a shelf out of a cheapy organizer & tape a cut-up paper grocery bag to it, then use that for ironing any fusible. My pieces come out perfect & if the paper bag gets grimy, I just tear it off & tape on a new one.

I'm so inspired by all the people here who make their own ironing board covers. I'm thinking of doing that next time. I want to design some patchwork fabric for Spoonflower to use. Think that would look so fun!

I fuse any unwanted fabric on top of the old cover surface. When it gets too many layers then I'll buy a new cover. I use Heat n Bond Ultra.

I "sort" of make a new cover fairly often. I just use safety pins and pin flat fabric on the ironing board. I like purple fabric on my ironing board, to match the rest of my sewing room. Sometimes I decide I want to use the fabric and just wash it and put it in a quilt. The pins are on the underside of the board and aren't visible. Easy and lazy....:)

Dina

I guess I'm the odd one here. I usually wash mine. I haven't had any problems with it fitting after washing. I only buy a new one if mine gets badly discolored from starch or ironing stains.

I buy 1-1/2 yards of the silver tone fabric from Joann's which will make 3 ironing board covers. I use the old cover for a pattern but I make it shorter at the large end by about 4", then I sew a piece on the narrow edge so it will stay hooked over the end. I turn up the edges all way around and stitch, then I use safety pins and pin it to the old thick pad in this hem, it holds better and won't pull the pins through the fabric. When it gets nasty I toss it and make a new one. By cutting it shorter it is enough for 3 covers. Works for me.
I like everyones ideas. Thanks

I make my covers out of regular canvas. These covers seem to resist scorching and do a great job when ironing or pressing. I used the old cover for a pattern. To make a drawstring easier, just use pre-folded bias tape on the outer edge of the cover, then use a small safety pin to pull the string through.

Onebyone, I love your tip. It should have been obvious, but I certainly never thought about it. Thanks

I take the old one off and use as a pattern to make a new one....Then throw the old one away..

I buy new every 5-7 years. When I am working with Stacy, I put a sacrificial scrap of 'unusable due to quality fabric' over it, and let it get the scorch marks, then throw it away when it is too far gone.