i don't iron much anymore..i used to..in fact i confess to having even ironed my children's socks and undies once..now i really wonder what that was all about but at the time i remember loving the little piles of freshly laundered and ironed clothes..i do still love to see clothes hanging on washing lines..and not just mine but other people's as well..anyway, now i'm hard pressed, so to speak, to bother ironing things that need it..for instance i have been known to drag a shirt from a pile of unfolded washing, give it a cursory shake, and put it on in the hope that by the time i get to wherever i'm going most of the creases will have disappeared from the wearing and those that remain look like ones that developed in the wearing..it's a bad attitude i know but i'm working on it..
a long while back i bought myself a present..it was a hand printed cheerful cherry (i love cherries) ironing board cover (it was a present because i usually make my own) and it made me happy until the elastic started to give..you know the deal..you're ironing away and the wretched thing slips around and you end up totally frustrated..well..that went on for a while..well months really..
i did a big pile of mending recently which i'd put off as much as the ironing but when i actually did it i wondered why i had procrastinated so much because it felt so good to get it done..ties sewn back on aprons and quilt covers, new elastic, repaired holes, buttons sewn back on, hems taken up and so on..and a new ironing board cover..
i used the cherry cover as my template by removing the elastic..that was easy..it was the sort of elastic that's sewn on to the edge of the fabric with no seam so i just snipped a bit of it and ripped it off..i do have an oh&s warning here though..be careful not to let the elastic slip as you're doing this because it can recoil, like it did with me, and give you a nasty bit of whip lash..the rest is equally easy..i chose a new vintage sheet as my new ironing board fabric..i put the template on top of the new fabric and cut out the new cover..i did add a bit of fabric here and there to adjust for length deficiencies on the old one..then all i did was sew bias tape on to the edge of the fabric and then i threaded the tape with elastic adjusting for the size of the ironing board..at least now when the elastic gives, which it surely will, i'll easily be able to put in new elastic..although knowing me there'll be a long period of procrastination..oh..and by the way it cost me about $0.50 to make..the sheet cost $4.00 and i only used a small fraction of the long end of it and the bias tape and elastic were given to me by a haberdasher friend..
a long while back i bought myself a present..it was a hand printed cheerful cherry (i love cherries) ironing board cover (it was a present because i usually make my own) and it made me happy until the elastic started to give..you know the deal..you're ironing away and the wretched thing slips around and you end up totally frustrated..well..that went on for a while..well months really..
i did a big pile of mending recently which i'd put off as much as the ironing but when i actually did it i wondered why i had procrastinated so much because it felt so good to get it done..ties sewn back on aprons and quilt covers, new elastic, repaired holes, buttons sewn back on, hems taken up and so on..and a new ironing board cover..
i used the cherry cover as my template by removing the elastic..that was easy..it was the sort of elastic that's sewn on to the edge of the fabric with no seam so i just snipped a bit of it and ripped it off..i do have an oh&s warning here though..be careful not to let the elastic slip as you're doing this because it can recoil, like it did with me, and give you a nasty bit of whip lash..the rest is equally easy..i chose a new vintage sheet as my new ironing board fabric..i put the template on top of the new fabric and cut out the new cover..i did add a bit of fabric here and there to adjust for length deficiencies on the old one..then all i did was sew bias tape on to the edge of the fabric and then i threaded the tape with elastic adjusting for the size of the ironing board..at least now when the elastic gives, which it surely will, i'll easily be able to put in new elastic..although knowing me there'll be a long period of procrastination..oh..and by the way it cost me about $0.50 to make..the sheet cost $4.00 and i only used a small fraction of the long end of it and the bias tape and elastic were given to me by a haberdasher friend..
WOW, I love the way the universe works...Would you believe I just sat down at the computer to Google Ironing board covers...!!! A quick blog check first and there you are. (I'm deadly serious!)I am starting to leave my ironing board out in the lounge rooms these days because I always have so many bits (especially on school mornings) to iron and I am sick of putting the board in and out of my linen cupboard. My thoughts were to give it a pretty cover and I might not notice it so much sitting in the corner anymore. I love your fabric, and thanks heaps for your tips. Sounds like all I have to do is pull out a vintage sheet from my stash, I'll use the old cover as a template, add some bias binding, thread through elastic and that's it hey? Sounds too easy. Thanks Jane.
ReplyDeleteI have been popping in and out visiting you often but sorry I haven't commented for a while. Karen xo. :)
that's so cool karen..
Deleteeven though i don't iron clothes a lot i do a lot of fabric ironing for patchwork etc so i've done the same as you..i have it in the corner of the bedroom at the moment and it's great to be able to have it there at a moments notice..funnily enough i actually like the look of ironing boards even without the personalised cover..but of course why not have a personalised one when they are so easy and cheap to make..good luck with making it and i'd love to hear how you go..jane xo from me too :)
Me and an iron don't have a strong relationship but I'd be prepared to give it a go if I had that ironing board cover Jane :-)
ReplyDeleteLove those yellows!...actually on second thought, I'd probably just put 'things' on it.
thanks brydie..i am in danger of doing the same as you..it takes a lot of discipline for it not to become 'the wardrobe' or 'the folding basket'..x
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