Ten Step Ironing Board Cover Tutorial ~ An Easy Walk-Through for How to Recover Your Ironing Board.

Is your ironing board ugly, gross, or worn out? Or are you like me and just bought a cheap one from Walmart and now everything you iron has the pattern of the metal base firmly pressed into it?

Well, luckily for you, there's something you can do about it without throwing out your old one and it's not even hard. It just takes 10 steps.

For this project, you will need:

~cotton fabric*

~insulated/heat resistant batting**

~matching thread (preferably a cotton thread from a reliable brand like Mettler or Guetterman)

~straight pins

~cording***

~your ironing board

~fabric marker or chalk

~tape measure (potentially useful, but you can eyeball if you're confident)

*You'll need a piece that's the length and width of your ironing board + about 6" (15 cm)

**You'll need a piece that's the length and width of your ironing board + about 4" (10 cm)

***Enough for the perimeter of your ironing board plus enough to tie it (at least a foot/30 cm)

I just left my ironing board as was and added this extra cover to it because there was nothing wrong with the original ironing cover; it was just too thin and kind of ugly. You may wish to remove your original cover for whatever reason. If you do, you may be able to salvage and use the original insulator (usually looks like a foam) or you may not. If you're not keeping the old insulation, you may want to use two layers of insulated batting when making your new cover. If the old insulation is thick enough on its own, you don't need any insulated batting and can just recover with a new fabric. It's up to you.

1. Lay your ironing board face down on top of your insulated batting (shiny side down - I have it wrong in this picture, sorry :/) and trace around it, leaving an excess of about 2" all around. Cut out your batting.

2. Lay your batting on top of your fabric and trace around it, leaving an excess of about 1". Cut out your fabric.

3. Put your batting aside for a few minutes and pin a 1/2" hem around the entire perimeter of your fabric.

Should look something like this.

4. Sew your hem in place.

5. Put your batting back (shiny side facing the wrong side of your fabric), pin it in place and then sew it in place. 

Be sure to fix your stitch at the beginning and end and to take out your pins before you sew over them.

The gap between the edge of your fabric and the edge of your batting should be at least 1/2" wide. I made mine a bit larger but found that that was unnecessary although harmless.

5.5 *This step is optional* Use a ruler to draw lines every 5" or so and then sew along these lines.

This connects your fabric to your batting more securely. It's not necessary but I did it so that I could remove and wash the ironing cover in the future without having to worry about the batting coming apart. If you plan on washing your cover in a machine, you should do this, but I find most people go their whole lives without washing their ironing board covers. It's up to you.

6. Now place your cording along the edge of your batting.

7. Fold over your fabric and pin it in place.

8. Now sew down the fold. Be sure not to sew over your cord. Because of the shape of your ironing board, you may have to gather your fabric a bit. Don't worry, you won't be able to see it from the front.

9. Place your ironing board on top of your cover. (You're almost done!)

10. Tighten and tie the cord so that it fits snugly. I tied my cord to one of the metal bars on the board's frame but that may not be necessary.

And there you are! A brand new and totally unique ironing board.

I chose this fabric because it's off-white and looks antique. I figure that, as I spilled Best Press and what-have-you on the cover, it would just add to the antique look.

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Happy sewing!

Grocery Bag Holder Tutorial ~ Easy Picture Walk-Through for Making a Fabric Grocery Bag Dispenser

Do you like reusing plastic grocery bags but hate the look of that grocery bag stuffed full of other grocery bags? Yeah, me too. That's why I finally made one of these fabulous fabric grocery bag holders.

*The fabric I've used is from a Camelot line called "Wildflowers" designed by Alisse Courter*

For this project, you will need:

~fabric (I used a 20 x 25" piece of fabric, which you can get from .5 m)

~matching thread (Mettler or guetterman polyester are suggested)

~straight pins

~fabric scissors

~ribbon or cording (for tie at the top)

~1/4" elastic (1/3rd of the width of your fabric, so I have 6")

~safety pin

~sewing machine

Lay your fabric with the right side down with the shorter sides on the top and bottom.

Fold the top and bottom over about 1/2" and pin or press in place.

Now sew your hems in place.

Your top and bottom should look something like this. Neatness doesn't matter much because you won't be seeing this once the bag is finished.

Lay your ribbon out near the top. Line it up close to the raw edge of your hem (a bit closer than I have it here)

Now fold over and pin the fabric so that your previous stitch lines up with the edge of your ribbon.

Make sure both edges are folded over a bit like this so that you can't see your raw edges once the project is finished.

Now sew your hem in place. Be careful not to sew over your ribbon. I ensure this by lining up the ribbon with my previous stitch and then sewing the second hem in place along the seam of the previous hem.

Now do the same thing with the bottom except don't use ribbon. On the bottom, we're going to feed through your elastic. Your elastic length should be about 1/3rd the width of your piece of fabric. So mine is about 6" long.

Sew your hem, fasten a safety pin to one end of your elastic, and begin to feed it through your hem.

Once the other end reaches the opening of your hem, pin it in place and keep going. It'll get harder and harder as you go on, but you want there to be a lot of ruffling so that the hole at the bottom of your bag is nice and tight. Once you get to the end, pin it in place.

And then sew the ends of your elastic firmly in place with a sewing machine.

Now, fold your project in half length-wise with right sides together.

You may want to pin your ribbon at the top out of the way so that you don't have to worry about sewing over it by accident.

Using a 1/2" seam, sew along the entire length, being sure to fix your stitches at the beginning and end and to remove your pins before you sew over them.

Turn your project right-side-out, fill it with those lovely plastic grocery bags, and tie it somewhere in your house where it will be useful and aesthetically pleasing.

And there you go. :)

In case you were wondering, I didn't actually put it on my fridge. That would be a pain. My pantry (where I actually put it) is just a mess and has very bad lighting.  Not an ideal background for a photo. :P

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