Which is better to have a thick pad or thin pad for an ironong board??

Aluminum foil works just fine under you ironing board pad--I made a ironing board on top of a cuboard and its great---

I use just 1 thickness of warm and natual batting, canvas for the top and the USB board, then cover the back of the board with felt. It is Sharon Schambers method and I don't even use my ironing board anymore. I have been using these boards for over 2 years now and wouldn't trade this method.

Good Luck Suzy

Thanks to all for your help....

I used some wool flannel that I bought on sale and never made into a coat. Some use an old wool blanket instead of yardage. After washing and drying to "full" the wool, I stapled it to a plywood base scrounged from DH scrap wood and then draped with a leftover piece of decorator cotton twill. Free 24" X 48" ironing table top!

I researched this and read that wool makes a great base under cotton duck for steaming fabric. I think it's because of the evaporation rate compared to cotton batting. From my research, the silver cloth is not recommended for garment construction because it reflects back the heat instead of absorbing it. I don't know if this applies to quilting cottons, I love it for block fusing with tricot interfacing.

The padding should be firm and not too "cushy" because the fabric you are pressing can get distorted or stretched if the pad is too thick and soft. IMHO

My guild has one made with heavy ply 4x6". I asked DH to make me one. He suggested that I use my folding plastic "banquet" table. I made a sandwich of a sorry old mattress pad and a piece of uphostery canvas I got at a garage sale for almost nothing. On each side I made a wide, open ended sleeve. I threaded rope though the sleeve. Now when I put it over the folding table, I can tie it tightly and iron wide fabrics, even extra wide backing quite easily. Total cost, under $5.

How did you make your big board? Do you have any instructions you could share?

joann's has it and you can get % off every week with coupons

I made a big retangular ironing board using 3/4" plywood. They cut it to the exact size I needed (many thanks to the lumber yard) and put cotton batting around it and then used 100% cotton to cover it. I used a staple gun on the back to hold the material in place. I've had to change the material once, which was no big problem. I now have it sitting on a long dresser (one that usually has a mirror on it) and it needs some boards on either side to stop it from moving. Before it was on my ironing board and didn't move. But putting it on my dresser, I have 6 drawers to put my fabric and things in. Got the idea here on the board.