Sewing Tutorial: How to Make an Ironing Board Cover

 
My ironing board cover had gotten scorched and was literally in shreds so I decided to make a new one. My vintage ironing board belonged to Michael's grandmother, and it is a bit larger than modern boards and thus hard to purchase a cover that fits well.  

 

I determined I didn't want to spend any money and so I picked some thrifted fabric from my stash. I am also all about 'quick and easy' when it comes to such utilitarian projects - by using two layers of fabric it's very easy to make a casing for the elastic in spite of the odd and curvy shape of the cover. I used elastic in the cover as that's what my most recent cover had, although I remember my mother's old covers having cording that you had to pull very tightly like a drawstring. I think elastic is much easier. The cover will be reversible, so if you wanted to use two different fabrics that would work as well. Just be sure to choose fabrics that are 100% cotton so it can withstand the high temperatures of the iron. If you are going to use batting under your cover for padding, I suggest you use cotton batting for the same reason. I didn't use any new padding in mine - I left the old cover in place and just cut off the shredded top layer of fabric like so:

 
My piece of fabric was about 50" x 60", and I made the cover out of two layers of the same fabric. I folded the fabric in half with right sides together, then I traced around the board with a piece of chalk. Then I cut out the two pieces of fabric together approximately 4" outside of the line I drew. (If you have a very fat ironing board thickness-wise, you might want to add an even larger allowance.)

 
You should have two layers of cut out fabric, about 3 1/2 - 4" larger than the ironing board tracing on all sides like so:

Next stitch the two pieces, right sides together, with a 3/8" seam allowance, stitching all along the three sides of the 'U' shape of the board, leaving the straight back edge open.

 

Next turn the cover right side out, and press well. Turn in the raw edges of the straight back open part, about half an inch or so, and press.

Now stitch again around the whole 'U' shaped perimeter of the cover, half an inch from the edge. This will be your casing for the elastic. Next stitch the open straight edge closed, topstitching close to the edge - do not sew past your other stitching but leave the casing open so you can put your elastic in. Using a large safety pin, thread your elastic into your casing. I used 3/8" elastic which fits comfortably inside the 1/2" casing. It should look like this:

 
It's a loooong way around and your fingers will get tired of elastic threading. When you've got all the way around to the other side, fasten your pin so that the elastic can not come unthreaded, like so:

 
Now put the cover on your ironing board, and puuull the other end of the elastic until the cover fits well. Adjust your elastic and fabric gathers so everything is nice and smooth and without wrinkles.

 
Fasten the other end of the elastic with a pin and cut it, leaving a bit of tail sticking out.

Then stitch back and forth, zigzagging over the elastic ends well to hold them in place. Then trim the elastic.

 

I also recycled the velcro straps from my old cover - I just cut them off and sewed them onto the new cover in approximately the same places, but I'm not really sure this was necessary.
Also not necessary, but how could I resist - a little bit of vintage flower power trim added to the straight back end of the cover.

 
And if you know me, you know that's my favorite part. 

Comments

[shelly]

i love your tutorials!!!
thanks :)

[theresa In Alberta]

Thankyou for the tutorial :-) I thought I was the only one that used an ironing board older than myself ;-) Mine is a little new than yours, from the early 1950's.

[Nana]

Hey! I must have used that ironing board many times myself, waaay back about mid-century! It was customary then to sprinkle your clothing, wrap it in a dish towel, and pop it into the fridge or freezer until you were ready to grab out a cotton blouse and iron it before school. I'm so glad to see that you're giving it such tender-loving care. Give it a little pat from me and my mama. Love, Nana xox

[Gardenia]

Hello, I'm here from Cherished hearts in the home. love your blog. and your big beautiful catholic family. I also like the Alphabet coloring pages, and am printing some of them off for my three year old. blessings,

[Kristyn]

This is too funny because I made a cover for my old ironing board last week. (Mine must be from the late 60's as it is avocado green.) I didn't have enough fabric to do it double-sided (what a great idea) but it turned out okay. I didn't have any thin elastic, and since I didn't want a trip to the store, I just crocheted a long chain and it worked just fine, much like the old cord on my other cover. It is a deep red cover and since I love any color as long as it's red ;) it should help me in the much needed ironing-inspiration department.

[Nori Coleman]

I am going to try this, Thanks for sharing.Love the vintage trim. I also have an old ironing board which I prefer,a good old made in the U.S.A. Made to last!!
My Hannah just learned to iron while making a doll quilt.She loves doing it, must be her Dad's genes. Hubby was in the military and he loves it too, starch and all. I mightfcatch on if Ikeep watching her enjoy it so much! Great Post. I am going to read the one on skirts next.

[Anne]

Great tutorial!!! I linked to it on Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-make-a-cover-for-your-ironing-board/2010/03/24/

--Anne

[Angela]

Great tutorial. I desperately need to replace my cover, but don't want to spend any money. This is right on time. I'll tackle the replacement at the weekend. Thanks so much.

[Beth Van Duzer]

I just made this. Thanks for the tutorial.

[Laura Bray]

I linked to this tutorial today: http://katydiddys.blogspot.com/2010/03/tuesday-is-ironing-day.html

I hope you don't mind! Thanks for the inspiration.

[SewWhatsNewcom]

What a great tutorial!!! I'd love to feature this (@ Sew, Whats New?) http://bit.ly/aIrH0w this weekend. Keep up the excellent work!!

Susan (also a homeschooling mom!)

[Nancy Rinas]

THANK YOU, KIMBERLEE,....MY FATHER MADE ME AN YELLOW CEDAR BOARD IN 1956...,.IT NEEDS A COVER AND I SHALL MAKE ONE LIKE YOURS.
Thanks....Nancy

[Gail]

Thank you Kimberlee, I will have a go at the ironing board cover.

Gail x

[Tricia E]

What a great tutorial. I off to make a well needed cover. I have one of those fiberglass covers on my old big board but it really gets hot. So at the suggestion of the Miracle iron company, they suggested putting a cotton cover on to help with the heat, that has worked very well and saves a ton of time ironing. Now I can make one for sewing and one for fusing and one for everyday ironing. Thanks.

[Vickie]

Looks great! Would you mind sharing a photo of what the finished underside of the back of the cover? Thanks! Vickie

[Susan]

Great tutorial! I'm a quilter, use lots of starch (sometimes the old fashioned kind you mix!) and I go through covers like crazy. Such a great idea to make it reversible - thanks so much!

[July]

Hi, this is July from China, it's really a wonderful work. I like it very much!

[GT]

I already made one last year, using about the same basic methods, I guess, except I didn't think about using 2 layers of fabric, to make the hem around the curvy edges easier. I'll try to remember that, for the next time around! And mine doesn't have any fancy trim either, which was a nice touch! But the one I made, sure does work better than the cheap ones I was buying, before that. And I have a "portable" ironing board, which folds into a wooden cabinet, so it was always hard to find covers that fit, since it's a little smaller than the standard size. Ironing board covers are a nice, easy project for beginners, that seem to work out ok, even if you don't totally know what you're doing. Just apply a little common sense, and it will usually turn out better than anything commercially available!

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