ironing board cover

I did it! And it was easier than I thought. I used some tips from here and here. I did not make a new liner, as I did not have the materials on hand and the old one was OK for now. So, I pulled out some black fabric with white flowers on it- I got 6 yards of this for free at the thrift shop a while back, and it is 60" wide fabric too, so there is a LOT of it. I think the black will keep the board from looking dirty too.

So, first I laid the fabric on the floor and put the ironing board on top. I measured and marked a line 3 inches from the edges of the board.


Then I cut along the line with a pinking shears.


Then I pressed a 3/4 inch fold all the way around the edge and pinned it down. (Well, first I cursed myself for throwing the old cover in the trash already, and pulled out the rest of the fabric I had just folded and put away so I could lay it over the board in order to iron this hem. Grrrrrrrr.)


Then I sewed a straight seam all the way around, leaving an opening for the tie. (Yes, I used red thread. I was fresh out of black, and the red was already in the machine. And it's on the bottom of the ironing board, so who cares- right? Let's call it hip, with cool contrasting thread, OK?)


Then I used a safety pin to thread some white satin cording through the casing I had just made. For some reason, white satin cording was all I had that was long enough. I guess I could have used yarn, although the cording is probably stronger. It threaded through nicely because it is slippery, but tying it tight was a different story.


Then I stopped to take a picture of Stella, since she kept sticking her foot into the frame in a desperate attempt to be the center of my attention. Awwwww, ain't she cute.


Then I stood the board up and stood back to admire my work. It turned out quite well- I am pleased. I do plan to pick up a few of those elastic bands with the clips on the end to go across the bottom in the middle, just to keep things snug. But it's way better than the old one already, so I'm not complaining.


And one more picture of Stella. Just because. She actually was a very big helper while I made this- playing happily with her doll house right up until the pictures at the end. It definitely could have been worse. :)