tabletop ironing pad tutorial

I don't have a big craft room (yet!) where I can leave out all my crafting necessities, like my ironing board. (Even simple sewing projects usually require you to press something in one direction or another.) Love, love, love this simple ironing pad that you can use on any tabletop, so you don't have to drag out your huge ironing board to press one little seam open. Check it out.

Tabletop Ironing Pad Tutorial

What you'll need:
*Insul-Brite (a heat-safe material found at most fabric stores)

*Cotton fabric of your choice

*Thin cotton batting (we like Warm & Natural brand)

*Coordinating ribbon

*Ironing board material (this can be found at most fabric stores--it's silver and a little shiny)

*Basting spray or spray adhesive

1. Cut Insul-Brite, fabric, batting, and ironing board material in the size you want.

2. Find the center of your fabric. I folded it in quarters and then ironed the corner so I would have a crease telling me where the center of my fabric was.

3. Find the center of your ribbon by folding it in half. Sew about one inch of the middle of the ribbon to the middle of your cotton fabric. We used a little zig-zap stitch. Make sure the ribbon tails are laying parallel to long sides of the fabric, so when you roll the pad up, the ribbon can wrap around it to tie it closed.

4. Use spray adhesive to baste all four layers together, cotton fabric on top, right-side up, then the Insul-Brite, then cotton batting, then the ironing board material. We don't recommend using pins, since the pin holes in the ironing board material will be there forever.

5. Quilt the three pieces together. You can do as little or as much as you want. We just did a few straight, parallel lines. Watch out for your ribbon--don’t sew it down!

6. Bind the three pieces with bias tape. Here is a great tutorial by Angry Chicken on how to sew bias tape if you haven't done this before.

7. While watching the bias tape tutorial, check out the 5 minute skirt tutorial. . .

8. Roll up and tie in a bow. Easy and space-conscious!

FYI: You're meant to do your ironing on the shiny side--that's the side that will reflect the heat back to your iron, not through to your table! The pretty fabric is all for looks!