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Home » Spin the Pins – Make a Pressing Board

Spin the Pins – Make a Pressing Board

June 10, 2013 by Nanny 12 Comments

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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:

 
not quite as rough on this:

 


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).

 
3.  Cut the 100% Cotton Duck (canvas weight – SL didnt have cotton canvas) leaving at least 3″ all around.

 


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

 
5.  Place the Cotton Duck on the table and turn the board over so that the cotton wadding is now on the Cotton Duck  (Sharon recommended spray adhesive at this point but I don’t use any chemical sprays because of Fibromyalgia so went without) and staple one end over:

 

 
6.  Pull the Cotton Duck tightly at the other end and staple.  Repeat on the other sides:

 

 


7.  Pull each corner over and staple:

 
8.  Fold the corners tightly 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!

 

 
I’m not going to do that just yet though – I just wanted to show you how perfectly PJ cut it for me!

 


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


 
 
You can see the water around the edges on the table – I really wet it!
 


 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!


 
I have to tell you that it works a treat!  The ironing board has returned to the laundry and I’m already thinking about making a larger one that will fold away, to use when pressing a quilt.
 
Thanks Sharon!  This was a great pin and deserved the position of first spin in the series.
 
Until next time
Nanny xx

 

Linking up to Inspiration Cafe “It’s a Steal -Knock Off Link Party

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Filed Under: SIMPLE PROJECTS, SPIN THE PINS

Comments

  1. Pam @Threading My Way says

    June 10, 2013 at 12:14 pm

    I didn’t know there was a difference between ironing and pressing. I always thought it was just a difference in terms between countries. I learn so much from reading blogs. I could do with a board like you’ve just made, instead of the rolled up towel I use when I’m too lazy to get out the ironing board.

    Reply
    • Nanny@nannynotes2u says

      June 10, 2013 at 12:34 pm

      I learnt about pressing (up and down) v’s ironing (backwards and forwards) when I started quilting, Pam, but didn’t think about the softness factor! I love my new board – it’s one of those “I should have done this ages ago….. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Mel@Mellywood's Mansion says

    June 10, 2013 at 2:44 pm

    Nanny that’s a great spin! I actually did this a while back on a huge scale and called it Australia’s biggest ironing board lol http://www.mellywoodsmansion.com/2012/08/grab-your-boarding-passaustralias.html. We are actually having a link party on my other blog about inspired projects it’s a one off party if you’re interested http://inspirationcafeic.blogspot.com/2013/06/its-steal-link-party.html

    Reply
    • Nanny@nannynotes2u says

      June 11, 2013 at 2:18 am

      Thanks Mel! I love your big one – what a great use of space!! I would love to link up – thank you! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Heather @ The Beating Hearth says

    June 11, 2013 at 2:47 pm

    Oh, I love this Nanny!! Thanks for posting over at the Inspiration Cafe, and as a quilter, I am making one of these!

    Reply
    • Nanny@nannynotes2u says

      June 11, 2013 at 9:29 pm

      Thanks Heather! I love mine – am about to make a slip-on cover so I can take it travelling!! 🙂

      Reply
  4. Grandma Sue says

    October 29, 2014 at 8:34 pm

    I agree with all of the above. Great idea to soak the duck fabric to shrink it.

    Reply
    • Nanny@nannynotes2u says

      October 30, 2014 at 8:03 am

      Thanks Grandma Sue! Lovely to have you visit! 🙂

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. » What a week! says:
    January 24, 2015 at 1:17 pm

    […] while my head was still spinning, I dreamed up 'SPIN the PINS' where I am aiming to pick one of my pins (at random) from my Pinterest pages to try out, and share […]

    Reply
  2. Make a 9 patch Sampler with Nanny - Nannycraft4u says:
    February 6, 2017 at 1:10 pm

    […]  You now have 3 rows to take to the pressing board  or ironing board remember to press up and down – dont […]

    Reply
  3. Make a Railfence Variation Quilt Block - Nannycraft4u says:
    February 13, 2017 at 4:02 pm

    […]  You now have a nice pile of rectangles!  Take to the pressing board or ironing board and press toward the […]

    Reply
  4. The Farmer's Wife 1930s Set-Up - Nannycraft4u says:
    March 6, 2017 at 9:31 am

    […] pressing board will be a real […]

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