It is the start of the courses at the "Joly" workshop and to welcome the new students, we wanted to make it very nice. 

The cover of the ironing board that served us so well last year has been put to hard use  😂 Between the children, the forgotten iron left on the board, the fusible interfacing... Since this board serves us so well, it was time to thank it and give it a makeover... So I took the time to make a pretty cover! 

I took the time to summarize the steps for you so that you can do it yourself at home!

Let's go! 

Supplies 

To sew an ironing board cover, you will need:
- durable fabric
- good quality matching thread
- a thin elastic (less than 1cm)
and that's all!

For the fabric choice, I recommend a canvas or a 100% cotton oxford. Canvas is a sturdy cotton cloth, fairly thick, used notably for cushion covers, bags, jackets... The fact that it is 100% cotton is also very important because cotton withstands heat well, an essential quality for becoming an ironing board cover. 

Of course, I left the commercial cover (not very pretty) underneath our cover to benefit from the padding it contains. If you want to pad your board, I recommend using thermolam which provides good padding but above all is designed to withstand heat. 

I chose a very flowery Japanese canvas that I liked a lot and that would go well with the workshop wallpaper. 

The pattern

To sew our ironing board cover, we will need some muscle 😂, let me explain.
After washing and ironing the fabric, you will spread it on the floor with the wrong side up, and turn the ironing board top over it. Let the fabric extend beyond the edges of the board. 
Draw the outline of the board with a water or heat erasable marker, chalk... You can put the ironing board back in place. Using a Japanese ruler or straight edge, draw a line 10cm from the edge of the board all around the board. 

Ta-da! The pattern is ready! Now just cut the fabric!

The tutorial

Once your piece is cut, I recommend overcasting the edges with a serger or zigzag stitch. 

Next, we will prepare the casing by making a simple 2cm fold all around the cover. To help you, I recommend using an aluminium seam gauge and of course pressing with a little steam.  

The most difficult part will be making the fold in the curves of the board, do not hesitate to press this area well. Sew your fold with a straight stitch 1.5cm from the edge, leaving a 10cm opening on the right side of the board to insert the elastic. 

Pin the end of your elastic with a safety pin and slip the elastic into the casing through the opening we left. Go all around to come out the other side of the opening. 

Place your cover on the board and pull the elastic to stretch the cover over the board. 

The cover must fit the board well but be removable. 

Remove the cover and sew the two ends of the elastic together. Cut the ends of the elastic and tuck it into its casing.

Sew the opening we left closed. 

Ta-da! The ironing board cover is finished and ready to welcome all our students! 

And there you go, isn’t my new cover beautiful?

Besides, it perfectly matches the lovely wallpaper of the workshop. It’s always pleasant to have pretty things in sight... I am delighted with my new ironing board cover which sews up very quickly but is more than necessary in the life of a sewing workshop.  

And you, tempted by the ironing board cover adventure? You will find beautiful canvases in the shop or on the website, don’t hesitate to take a look.  

So, once again, to your needles!