Spin the Pins – Make a Pressing Board

I mentioned last week that I was thinking it was time to start ‘making’ some of the things I have been so busily ‘pinning’ onto my Pinterest page and I had such a lovely response, I was inspired to get going with the plan!

So today is the first in a series I’ve titled ‘SPIN the PINS’ It will be a bit like a ‘chocolate wheel’ – spin and where it stops, that will be the pin for that day!

So let the wheel spin!!!!!

I’ve been wanting to make a Pressing Board for ages to have in my sewing room instead of the ironing board, as space is very limited.  I liked the look of many on Pinterest , especially the ones using those fold up trays.

Then, on second thoughts, I decided that I don’t have room for another set of legs to trip over either, so I decided to make a board that will fit on the table that PJ made me from my Grandmother’s old treadle machine.

Just the other day, I stumbled upon a Utube presentation by Sharon Schamber about how to make your own pressing board.

I was really impressed
a) with Sharon’s explanations and
b) the simple process Sharon recommended.

It was at this time that I realised that what I had been looking at were ironing boards rather than pressing boards!  What’s the difference?  Well the ironing board we like to be padded don’t we?  The pressing board, however, needs to be firm, so that when we press down on our carefully cut pieces that we have so carefully rejoined, we won’t be distorting the fabric.  (I hadn’t thought about that before…..)

So I got all enthused and thought I would show you what I did.

I needed:

A board
Cotton wadding
Cotton Duck fabric
Staple gun
Spray water gun

What I did:

1.  Found a board.  Apparently it is important that the board has fibres!  After a fruitless trip to the local Bunnings I resorted to sending PJ down to his shed and this is what he found – perfect!
Rough on this side:

 

2.  Cut the piece of wadding – must be 100% cotton – no polyester – to a size that will allow me to cover the sides as well (so it’s not rough).

 

4.  Spread the wadding over the rough side of the board and smooth it out:

 

 

7.  Pull each corner over and staple:

 

 

 9.  At this point you might cover the back with adhesive felt or you might like to try this.  I decided to make mine the same size as my small cutting mat so that I can glue the mat to the bottom.  This will be super handy for the next retreat!

 

 

10.  Now take your water spray bottle and spray it all over until it is wet.

 The idea of this is that the Cotton Duck will shrink around the board as it dries and you will be left with a perfect, firm, pressing board – and here it is, right beside my new, cordless iron!