Update Your Ironing Board Cover – Easy Instructions
Choose From Three Free Patterns!
Ironing board covers can get rather nasty after awhile. New covers at the store are often unattractive and come in outdated colors. The solution is to make your own. That way your cover can be exactly the color and style you want!
We found three ironing board cover patterns, all of which are free, that will help you make your own new cover. Making a cover is a simple project, and a quick one, but you’ll find the patterns helpful for working out the details.
You may want to look at all three patterns to determine which padding you want to use and how you’ll prefer to attach the cover to your board. You can even combine details to make a cover that is just right for you.
Ironing Board Cover From a Vintage Tablecloth
The blogger at T. in the Burg made a lovely ironing board cover from a vintage table cloth. The table cloth was a bit short so she added some patchwork to lengthen it. The result is completely wonderful!
“I wanted some sort of a pieced quilt block element in my cover but knew that I did not want the cover to be too scrappy, ’cause that makes it hard to iron stuff. If I am going to iron, (and I firmly believe that ironing is a choice…), I do not want impressions from seams in my ironing! So I decided on a pieced patchwork panel, to the right of the board, way down at the broader end.”
If you’d like more exact instructions, then the next two patterns will be helpful.
Showcase a Favorite Fabric in This Cover
The following pattern from designer Ellison Lane is similar in basic design to T. in the Burg’s. You may find this helpful for fleshing out her instructions for using a vintage tablecloth, although you’ll need to move the insert further to the wide end of the cover. Or, pull out your favorite fabrics and make the pattern as-is.
This pattern uses batting and Insul-Bright to make it heat proof.
Make a Patchwork Cover
Moda has a lovely patchwork pattern by Jenny Garland for an ironing board cover. This pattern is also free.
This cover is made from a jelly roll, but feel free to use whatever fabric strips you prefer. It is lined with batting but you may also want to add a layer of Insul-Bright to increase the heat proofing.
Many quilters prefer seamless ironing board covers so they have perfectly flat surfaces for pressing pieced blocks and tops. Any of the patterns here can easily be adapted to make a cover from one piece of beautiful fabric.
Whether you “wing it” while making your cover, combine features from these free patterns, or follow a pattern exactly, you’ll soon have a lovely new ironing board cover in hardly no time at all!
