It's a Big, Big Board

 It seems I'm always trying out something new. Sometimes with great failure but also sometimes there is great success. There are too many failures to even start to list them all (and how depressing would that be for me but it might be a bit fun for you!) and let's not start to brag about success when it can implode at any time. Today's success story came about when I read a blog post about creating your own larger than normal ironing board surface. Having been known to place ironing boards side by side to create such a surface, I thought I could give this a try. You can make a large padded surface that slides on and off your regular ironing board but I was given a wood top ironing board when a neighbor moved (okay, it was in the pile of stuff they would not take with them but I did ask first) and figured I could simply screw it down for an ironing board that was dedicated to quilting. See that phrase "simply screw it down"? Of course, nothing is simple and this little project took most of one day but I am more than please with it so deem it is "worthy" of a blog post.

First I had to clean up the donated ironing board that had old iron legs, multiple layers of padding and covers. After a good cleaning and scrub down, it sat waiting for us to go buy the plywood. My husband was willing but we went to a home improvement store that did not cut boards down to size. That meant we drove home with a 24 inch by 8 foot sized board hanging out the back of our Jeep. Even when you live relatively close it is a bit harrowing to drive with your hatch tied down but we made it home. Then the board sat in the garage for a month while I was finishing up working and transitioning to retirement. Finally my husband said the magic words "what is this board here for?" and I reminded him of the upcoming project. The circular saw was dragged out of hiding, cut at 60", and the scrap cut into boards needed for a project he was working on. You see that innocent question wasn't just to get the garage in order but came about when he wanted to use that fine piece of wood for his own purposes but it worked for me, too.

With the board cut we needed to screw it down but didn't have the proper screws, or so he thought, so a trip to the hardware store was in order. After purchasing what was recommended, I thought we probably could have used something we already had, but it was easy to start with new. Holes were drilled, screws were countersunk, and we had a BIG piece of plywood on top of an old wood ironing board:

Plywood top screwed down with 5 screws

From this side you can see the original board lined up with the plywood.

My husband was sure we needed to smooth off the corners at least but I assured him they would be padded before this project was over. Next up was to cover with foil and tape in place:

Overkill with Gorilla tape but it shouldn't dry out and fall off!

Foil to reflect heat and keep board from absorbing heat

We bought the heavy duty 18" wide variety and it went on nicely, no rips. Next up was two layers of cotton batting but that also left a section of the same width so I made mine three layers thick. This might be a mistake as it seemed a bit too padded but I think if I pull it tighter and re-staple one side it should help. It now got stapled into place and moved into the house so it could be laid down on a clean surface. What? My garage isn't clean enough? It is clean now because in the process of moving the board inside we lost a tack, just a temporary measure to hold things in place before I could use the staple gun. Looking, using a broom, and finally the vacuum cleaner didn't turn up the tack but now my garage is wonderfully clean!

Table inside with batting stapled down

Once inside and with the three layers of cotton batting stapled in place, we set the board upright only to find the tack pushed into the area rug. Well, at least we found it and the garage is cleaner, too. Next up, an old sheet was stretched and stapled over the other layers:

Now you can see the original wood top with screws through plywood

I had to press the top cloth before the final assembly because it was very wrinkled while stored in the garage as a future drop-cloth. It's actually a very pale green but so smooth and a bit thicker so maybe it has a higher thread count? For the top layer I made a removable ironing board cover out of a plain white sheet, compliments of Aunt Marcella. The corners are fitted and there is a casing with elastic all the way around so it's a very nice fit. I even have another length of this sheet that is set aside so I can make another cover when this one no longer will clean up. I chose white because when quilting I really need to see what I'm doing and not get confused by a pattern showing through from the board cover.

Tada! My finished Big Ironing Board

Time will tell how much I use and enjoy it but, for now, I'm glad I spent the time to make it and do it right. While I was working on this project I was also refinishing the cabinet from a Singer 201, but that's going to have to be my next post so I can give you a bit more detail. For now, how about making your own Big Board?