Ironing Table Fabric?
 

I am in the process of building both a cutting table and an ironing station from Ikea Kallax units. The ironing table top will be rectangle and made from premium grade plywood, 100% cotton batting and fabric. My question is do I need to use duck or twill or some kind of heavy fabric for the top or will it be fine to use regular quilting cotton in a cute print? I know it needs to be 100% cotton, but does the weight or thickness really matter? I've seen both in my research and Googling. Thanks in advance for your help!

Lisa

You need a heat/moisture barrier of some kind added, like the silver heat resistant fabric, or the plywood will warp. Seen it happen to many a nice wood ironing surface. I like duck canvas to cover whatever padding I use. I make a muslin easy off top covering over that so it's easy to replace or wash. I now use a portable wool pressing pad on top.

I would use a heat resistant fabric over the bat that you want to use the a muslin cover that can be taken off for washing. It sound like a fun project. I only wish I had the space for a larger pressing area. Just ran out of space.

So to clarify Onebyone and juliasb, is your duck canvas your heat/moisture barrier or do you mean it needs something besides that (or under it)? I don't really want to make a removable cover to put over it for a couple reasons. One, I've never sewn elastic and I'm fairly certain I couldn't make it look good, and two, I am making my top sit on the unit with a tight frame and a layer of non-slip rug liner but it won't be actually attached. Therefore, if the fabric becomes too gross I will just replace it.
I'm confused because I watch Donna Jordan a lot and her husband made the one they use all the time (with lots of steam) from just plywood, batting and a "heavier and wider" cotton print fabric(he doesn't give more specifics). Obviously I don't want this to warp or get messed up, but it will be a big surface (approx. 20"x63") so I want it to look pretty too if I can. :o

When I made mine, I bought an old wooden kitchen table and covered it with about 6 large pieces of ugly, thicker fabric to use as a heat and moisture barrier (one is duck or ducklike), and then custom made a tablecloth of cotton to match my decor. I seldom have to wash this cloth, the table is amply protected and I didn’t spend any extra money on padding.

Plywood will warp when exposed to heat and moisture. DH said thick plywood of at least 3/4" would probably be okay for an ironing base.

I prefer the cotton duck over regular quilting cotton because the quilting cotton is slicker, and the cotton duck kind of grabs my blocks and holds them still as I press them.

Since you have a lot of white furniture, you might want to choose a color palette and use it throughout your sewing room to give it cohesiveness. I used turquoise and yellow with touches of black and white in curtains, ironing table, labels on plastic rolling drawer units, and storage baskets. It has the whimsy and yet isn’t busy.

I can’t get the link to upload from my phone, but I have photos on QB if you’d like to see my sewing room. You’re going to have ro zoom in to see the ironing table.

To find the post, search “my happy place guest room”.

I used batting and cotton duck, and no heat resistant barrier. I don’t like the barrier. It warped my last top.

Wendi Gratz has a video on how to make an ironing board cover with a drawstring. Maybe you could make a drawstring on your decorative cover? I know this is a different shape than you are making but maybe it will give you some ideas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV7ocoiil2o

I've put a layer of Insul-bright between 2 100% cotton batting pieces, in mine. I've had light cotton fabric on top, but it wears out. So I put a heavy, duck fabric on my current ironing board, and I love it! It has lasted a long time.

I too use duck fabric as the top of my "big board" ironing surface. I also prefer a plain or solid neutral color as opposed to a busy multicolored print. A busy print combined with the print of the fabric being ironed just drove me crazy. Too much "busyiness" and multi-color combinations made it hard for me to see to fold and press or to see if the strips or squares were straight. That may be just me but something to think about.
I can't speak to the moisture and heat effects on a base of plywood as I don't use steam in my iron, I just spritz and press/iron. Have had my big board that sits on my regular ironing board for about 10 years and no problems at all with the plywood it is made from.

To 'steamproof' my ironing table I covered the plywood with aluminum foil before adding the batting and final cover. Water won't penetrate though the foil and it is easy to wrap around the plywood edges. Overlap generously if the width of your table is greater than the width of your foil.

I made an ironing station two years ago. I taped heavy duty aluminum foil over the plywood surface making sure there were no areas where moisture could get in, and then layered cotton batting and then the silver ironing fabric that I got at Joann's over that. I, too, was worried about moisture getting to the wood. I haven't had any issues with warping and I used a lot of steam at times.

Make sure you use exterior grade plywood, or you will have warping. I have a 60X80 ironing table that I had made for when I did home dec sewing for people. I have a wool blanket, then cotton batting and the silver teflon coated for my ironing surface. I have had no problems with warping and I love the teflon surface.

Okay, if you are really lazy, like I am, you could just use safety pins to fit the top fabric on the ironing board, as that is what I did. I also didn't want to mess with elastic, neither sewing it directly on or making a facing to slip it into. The safety pins work fine, and it is extremely easy to change fabric when I want to.

My ironing board top is 20 inches by 60. It is wood, cotton batting, and regular cotton fabric. The fabric I currently have on it is a purple flower print. I have used this board 8 years with no warping or any problems. I like having my ironing board top match the other purple things here in my sewing room. :)

Dina

You can use almost any fabric that can take a very hot iron, but you Must use something under it (like the heat resistant ironing board fabric). This will protect the wood, particle board or even the metal underneath.

I really appreciate all the helpful comments and ideas! I am definitely using the ironing board fabric from JoAnns and cotton batting. Have to decide about the aluminum foil - is it still needed with that fabric? I would have to tape it to reach my width and would the tape create an issue with the heat or moisture? I will wait and see how I like the look of that fabric before deciding whether to add another layer over it . The fabric is called silver but looks dark gray online (I pick up tomorrow to see in person) so the colors might work as is. Zozee, I think my color palette will be very close to yours! I am sharing the space with my grandkids sleeping space (for visits only) and I made a crib quilt for my grandson in light aqua, yellows, grays and some black and white accents, lol. The walls are a light blue/aqua as well. I also love the idea of stripes for a straight ironing line but I'm afraid pulling it to staple would make the lines wavy and it would drive me nuts. I might do as I saw someone comment online and just draw a long straight line on whatever fabric I have, to use to true up my fabric and blocks. Oh, the possibilities! I just wish I didn't work full time so I could get this made ! :-)

I just made a removable wool cover for my ironing board yesterday! I copied the velcro attachments on my store bought cover and then did some custom ones on the ends.
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My 1st trial for fabric on my big board was a striped ducking fabric but it got stained real quickly when using starch, etc. The 2nd trial I used the silver heat resistent fabric and so far its worked great. Can just wipe off any starch overspray and no stains.

I covered my wood with one of those big black trash bags to avoid moisture in the wood. Then I put one layer of warm and natural batting. Then I added 100% cotton canvas and stapled each layer on the back. then I sprayed the canvas with water from a water bottle several times and the canvas shrunk and pulled really tight. My squares do not stretch when ironing. I had a cotton cover at one time, but it got ugly real quick. I love the canvas.

The above noted is how I did mine as well, however I purchased a wool mat to cover the top of my ironing board, and made a couple of large "pillow slips" from a king size sheet - so I could slip the wool mat inside, and when it became discolored from my ironing, then I could exchange it with the second one. I purchased my wool mat from a carpet store, 3/8" thick - 24" x 60" to fit my ironing board, and laid it on top - what a difference it made in my pressing and ironing, and less than the cost at our local quilt shops.

I had to tape my aluminum foil to get the width of the ironing surface, too. I felt it was needed to block any moisture towards the wood. I haven't had any issues with the tape. It is between the aluminum foil and the batting.

I use a piece of plywood cut 24x24. Cover with a layer of insulbrite that is cut about 23.5x 23.5 to avoid bulk on edges. Cut the silver iron fabric at 32 x 32. I hot glued cabinet cushion to plywood back. Then wrap the the silver fabric. I used straight pins to hold.

For a straight edge, I use a 48 inch metal carpenter ruler. No need to draw lines.

agree that you need a water-resistant layer. I cover mine base thoroughly with aluminum foil - inexpensive and works fine.

I use a layer of insul-brite, a layer of cotton batting w/o scrim, sandwiched between two layers of heavy-weight muslin to make an ironing mat that. It works great and is portable.

If you don't want extra thickness, use a clear spray sealer on the plywood before covering with your fabric choice. I generally use the clear sealer from Krylon but there are other brands that work well.

Matt, from Jordan fabrics has a great tutorial on how to do an ironing tablecover. I used Kaffe Facet fabric, followed the directions in Matt's tutorial and haven't any problems. I did use 3/4 inch "blonde" or also called cabinet grade plywood.

I use a rectangular piece of plexiglass (that I happened to own) on top of a rectangle of thin plywood, on top of my regular wide-ish ironing board. Everything is covered by two layers of white denim from JA. Nothing is tacked down, but the denim doesn't slide much. The denim is very grippy for pressing blocks. I do move around a bit on the board when pressing, as the plexi wants to push up temporarily when hot.

I looked at endless tutorials online before it finally occurred to me that the cover doesn't really need to be a close fit like a regular ironing board cover or even tacked down. I can flip either layer of the denim over if needed.

If I need to do garment ironing, I lift the whole setup off or (better) push it sideways a bit to clear a space on the original ironing board underneath.

I used a coupon from JA for so much off a single cut to get the denim insanely cheap. I was using it for temporary light-blocking curtains (it didn't work that well, IMO.) After taking the pieces down, I realized that all the ideas I had for white denim were white jeans (not happening) or a tent, so I was glad to find a use for some of them.

hugs,
charlotte

I made one about 5 years ago - maybe longer, that is the plywood version with 2 layers of cotton batting and and 2 layers of cotton fabric. (It was fabric that my friend already had and we were both making ours together at the same time.) Living in So. Cal. moisture isn't that big of an issue - and there has been no warping or bowing in the wood. Maybe I don't iron as much as you guys - my ironing board hasn't had a problem with dampness.