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​Pattern Reviews, Easy Projects, Tips, & Sew-a-longs 

2/5/2022 4 Comments

How to Sew an Ironing Board Cover in 1 Hour

How to sew an ironing board cover

Re-cover your ironing board with in a few simple steps


Spruce up your dingy ironing board, it's simple and quick. There's one thing almost every sewist says, "I only iron when I sew." That rings true for me 95% of the time. I'm not a big fan of wrinkles so, I do iron the occasional laundry basket of clothes. However, my ironing board lives in my sewing space. Unless we have people over, it hangs out in sewing land.

There's nothing fun about pressing open seams on a musty crusty ironing board, amiright? I've bought countless pads for my board over the years. They've worked fine enough until they flatten and get ugly. It was time to make my own cover.

After going down the rabbit hole that is Google, I discovered people using felt blankets on their boards or Insul-Bright. You're going to use both for your new cover! No more wimpy covers that leaves board indents on your project or, dare I say, laundry. 

Your new board will be thick and lofty, oh and it'll look cute too. Yay for pretty things. :D 
Are you ready to re-cover your ironing board? Let's do this.
DIY your ironing board quick and easy

Items You'll Need:

  1. 2 yards of pretty cotton fabric, you may end up with some leftover 
  2. 2 1/2 yards of elastic, 1/2" wide at least 
  3. 1 wool blanket (buy it new, thrifted, from a military surplus store, or an old one in the closet)
  4. 2 yards Insul-Bright
  5. Thread
  6. Sewing Machine
  7. Pins or clips
  8. Iron and ironing board, of course 

Ironing boards come in all shapes and sizes. 2 yards for the fabrics should be more than enough. Measure your board length to be sure, don't forget you'll need extra for the seam allowances.

This whole project takes about an hour. You'll be pressing those seams open on a pretty new cover in no time. 
Recover your ironing board, an easy sewing tutorial

Let's get Started

Start by removing your old cover and after you've washed it, stuff it inside this floor pillow. ;)
​Use the thin foam piece as a cutting guide for the wool and Insul-Bright layers. If you don't have one, just eyeball it. This is an easy project, and it's all about winging it here.
  • Cut 2 layers from your wool blanket
  • Cut 1 layer of Insul-Bright batting
I cut the wool and Insul-Bright pieces one inch larger around. Set aside.
Sew your own ironing board cover. Great for beginner sewers.
The bumpy piece was the thin foam that came with my ironing board. I used it as a template for cutting the Insul-Bright and wool. I cut the new layers about 1" larger all around.
Add wool and Insul-Bright to your ironing board for better pressing.
Insul-Bright and wool layers for the ironing board.
Place the 2 wool layers onto the board, then the Insul-Bright layer on top. Iron over the layers to smooth them out. Look at those wrinkles. Yikes!
Make an ironing board cover.
2 layers of a thick wool blanket and 1 layer of Insul-Bright will go under the cotton fabric cover.
Sewing fabric for your ironing board
Isn't this fabric cute? I love it. It's from Joann.
Drape your cotton fabric over the board. You'll want it to hang 4" all around. Give everything a good press, sliding your iron back and forth over all the layers. 
Recover your ironing board.
Roughly cut your fabric leaving a 4" for turning under.
Sew your own cover for your ironing board.
I cut a little too rough. Yikes!
Renew your old ironing board with an easy DIY cover.
Even out the rough cutting by folding in half and trim the jagged edges.
Cut your fabric, it doesn't have to be perfect but, make sure your edges are smooth and not jagged. I'm speaking from experience. ;) Haha
How to recover an old ironing board.
Fold the fabric corners onto themselves to create curves. Pin. Do the same thing for the nose of the board as well. Then, pin the long edges 1/2" under.

How to recover your hand me down ironing board.
You could pin the whole cover under 1/2" or not. I found pinning helped but, it's upto you.

Sewing Time

Take your fabric cover to the machine. You're going to sew with a 1/2" seam allowance. Use a 2.5 or 3mm stitch length. It doesn't have to be perfect, the seam will get covered.
Easy beginner sewing project
Sew with a 1/2" seam allowance. Just eyeball it.
Now, grab your elastic. You're going to sew a zigzag stitch over the seam you just sewed with the elastic on top. 
Pull the elastic taught with one hand while gently pulling the fabric behind the machine with the other hand. Use a zigzag stitch and sew. You want to pull the elastic tight enough so it will make the cover fit nice and snug over your board.
Sewing elastic with a zigzag stitch.
Sew the elastic on with a Zigzag stitch. Place the elastic over your raw seam edge and sew, pulling the elastic as you go.
How to sew easy projects.
It's not perfect but, it's an ironing board cover. Nobody will see it.
How to sew
The elastic covered the raw edges.
You will have something that looks like mine up above. If not, grab that seam ripper, grab a cup of tea, and start ripping. 


If your fabric doesn't fit snugly enough, clip a piece of elastic and attach it on the underside along a long edge. Clip. Then, pull it toward the other side to get a snug fit. Clip or pin. Take it to the machine and zigzag over both ends. You may have to slide it on and off the board a few times to get a perfect fit.
​
My old cover came with elastic straps that fir like this, except they had a button. That's where I got the idea. I added two elastic strips under the cover. One at the nose and one at the bum. ;)


Yay!! You just made a cute ironing board cover and it will work much better than any store-bought one. 
How to fix your ironing board cover
Add a crosswise piece of elastic to tighten the cover if needed.
Find the love of doing laundry again
Maybe I'll like doing laundry again with my new, pretty ironing board cover. Nah, probably not!

I've wanted to recover my ironing board for a while, and I'm so happy I finally did it. With the multiple layers, everything presses nicely and quickly too. 

Are you excited to make your ironing board cover? Or is it something you'd rather not make? I'm curious, so tell me in the comments below if it's something you're excited to make.

​
Thanks for hanging out with me today. Now go sew something fun. :D


Happy ironing,
Annette

Looking for something else? Read below


Have a ton of fabric scraps? Want to use them up? Sew a floor cushion.

New to sewing and want to jump right in? Read this Budget-Friendly sewing post here.

Is your machine not working properly? It might need a quick cleaning session, find out how, here.

Do you love vintage style and want to incorporate it to your everyday wardrobe? Grab this easy free pattern for a vintage headscarf. 

Do you have chickens? Yes! Well, you need an egg apron. Grab the free pattern and tutorial here.

4 Comments
Lise
2/12/2022 01:15:03 pm

Love this tutorial! My cover isn’t even old but it has all sorts of bumps, so I’m thinking I could remove the bumpy padding and add my own per your instructions!

Reply
Annette
2/24/2022 07:15:40 pm

Oh yes, make a new one! I haven't used it for sewing yet but, shirts press really nicely. :D LOL

Reply
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    Author

    Hi there, I'm Annette and I love eating and sewing. I usually have a cup of coffee or tea with me, but not next to my machine because I'd probably spill it. I am the reason we can't have nice things.

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