Wool Ironing Board Cover DIY?
 

I've been looking at the wool ironing board covers and they are quite pricey.
I've also been looking at the 10 yards of 100% wool batting that have been stuffed under my sewing table since I got them on a blow out price of $5.99/m a few years ago...I'm still not sure it wasn't priced wrong.
I'm wondering if I could cut a few pieces of the batting to size, baste them together into a pad and then put them under my ironing board cover and voila...wool ironing board cover.
What do you think? Or am I just being cheap and should buy a real one?

Watson

wool ironing board

Yeah...go for it! I think it's a great idea! You're not being cheap, you're being resourceful.

Only one way to find out...keep us posted! 😎

I used layers of old wool army blanket that my parents had & it works fine.

I don't know if it was just a coincidence, but I had been logged in and posting, and after I clicked on your link, I had to log back into the site? Anyway that was interesting to see that they put the wool under their iron board cover. I thought the reason the wool worked so well for people was because you were pressing directly on it, hmmm.

That is what I thought too. Also, I don't understand the wool craze. I don't own a wool pressing pad so I'm not qualified to offer an opinion on its value since what I've been taught is if something isn't pressing well, press on something hard not soft. Maybe someone could enlighten me on the value of wool.

Here's more info on pressing on wool. I have found it does make ironing go faster.
https://suzyquilts.com/an-honest-rev...pressing-mats/

I'm new to using a wool mat, but I can definitely see a sharper, crisper feel to my pressed seams!

I read the reviews, pros, and cons from the "honest review" website. Some seamstresses covered theirs with a pillowcase, like an ironing board cover. I like that idea. Others suggested 30x30 horse pads. They were on sale for $23, but shipping was $8 at the stateline site they mentioned. I think I'll check the local feed store!

I also cut up an old army wool blanket my husband got when he was in the service and put two layers of it on my ironing board. I iron directly on the wool, and it works great. I also put it on a small pressing board I have by my sewing machine.

Watson, do you think you may need to wash it to compress the fibers?

I use a wool pressing mat at work (LQS) and love it, I definitely noticed crisper seams.

So frugal me found some wool fabric in my stash and made my own. I also had a piece of finely woven wool gabardine and made a case cover for the small pad near my machine to keep the pad clean. For my large antique wooden board I had piece of wool over 50 years old; washed and dried it and used that.

That was very informative. Thank you for sharing with me. I'll have to try one next time I see one on sale. Thank you so much.

Wool pressing mats are not soft, they are very firm. I personally think they work well in combination with steam pressing to make crisp seams and flat blocks.

I also think if you wanted to make a homemade one, you'd be better off with either wool padding from a rug store, or old wool blankets, than you would be with wool batting. You'd have to do a lot of compression of a lot of layers of batting to get the desired results, I would think. I'd rather use wool batting in quilts. ;)

Ironing pad wool
 

Wool is what ironing board pads USED to be made of in the old days of quality over price. Moved to felt in the 70's, then cheaper yet foam. Wool is the best tool for the job It lets steam go through fabrics without rotting or compressing like felt, doesn't deteriorate like foam. Also less germy/moldy wool can handle hot/wet. Presses better too. Good luck, square mats are nice to use to not get up to iron at each section, but a stretch can be comfortable after too much sitting. Have an elegant day.