How to make an ironing board cover tutorial!
I’ve been meaning to do this for years and it only took two hours, including the time to photograph it for this post! I primarily use a cheapie tabletop ironing board for my projects, and as you can see from the stains, it was so thin that it would press the iron grid marks into fabric if I wasn’t super careful. Not only is my new cover prettier, it is much more functional because of what I upcycled to pad it underneath! The best fabric for ironing board covers is a 100% cotton quilting substrate and this is such a fun way to update a sewing room workhorse without a ton of time or effort.
See that peeking through? Can you guess what it is and why it is making my ironing and pressing much easier? Keep scrolling to find out! This is a peek at how the bottom of the cover looks. I wrote this for my tabletop but there isn’t any measuring involved so you could use the same concept to make a fullsize board cover too.
Check out these other posts while you’re here:
- 8 Free for Wall Decor
- 10 tips for (and ideas for where to send them!)
- 15
- -15 mistakes to avoid!
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how to make an ironing board cover tutorial
Supplies
- Cotton yardage that matches your ironing board length
- 1 vintage 100% wool blanket – look for a cheap one often marked ‘cutter’, indicating it is for repurposing! I snagged mine from ages ago, just make sure it is 100% natural fibers with the tag or a burn test
- Rotary cutter
- Yardage of 1/2″ elastic that matches the perimeter measurement of your board
- or safety pin
- Wonder clips or pins
- Ironing board; mine is
Steps
This tutorial doesn’t use any measuring, just tracing and winging it. If you are a very beginner or using precious fabric, please do a ‘scrap’ copy first, it doesn’t take very long! This was my first try, no issues.
Make sure to prewash all fabric before you use it so it doesn’t shrink when you’re done!
Step 1- Did you guess it? This is a vintage 100% wool blanket. Wool retains heat and is great for pressing, so it makes a fantastic inner layer. I used the previous padding as a template and cut out two pieces with my rotary cutter.
Step 2- I used the actual cover as a template to cut a new cover. I cut off the casing from the original cover, knowing I was replacing it with a newer one!
Step 3- Time to make the casing. I ripped/cut 2″ wide strips long enough to go all the way around the perimeter of the cover and then folded over the short ends and hemmed them on each short end. If you need to join extra pieces (as shown on left) just press them open.
Step 4- Carefully pin your casing around the edge of the cover, matching raw edges with raw edges. I then serged it together with 3/8″ seam allowance but a sewing machine will work as well, just consider finishing the raw seam with pinking shears or an enclosed bias tape if you plan to wash it often.
Step 5- Time to do a drawstring or elastic, like I did! A bodkin is key here but of course I couldn’t find mine so I had to use an old-school safety pin instead. I just eyeballed it instead of measuring and subtracting some off the length, tied it off in a knot, and voila! You can’t see the elastic or casing from the top so don’t sweat the details.
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