Pressing fabric is essential when working with textiles. Sure, you can skip this step and sew everything up, but the results won’t be the same if you’d taken the time to iron your finished piece.
I recently started working on doll clothes for my soft toy cats. They’re tiny to work with using a regular sized iron, and bringing out the huge pressing board for little pieces makes no sense.
I decided to make a smaller board that could fit my working desk, would be big enough to work with Clover’s Mini Iron, and small enough to deter my cats from taking a nap on it.
This project is easy to make and ready in under 10 minutes. Just make sure no children or pets (or your fingers) are nearby when you’re using the stapler to avoid injuries.
Supplies for the pressing board
To make your own board, you’ll need:
- 3/4″ thick wooden board in the size of your choice. Mine’s 11×11 inches.
- Cotton batting and fabric to wrap the board.
- Stapler and Rotary cutter.
Step 1
Place the cotton fabric and batting on a flat surface. Center the board.
Step 2
Fold raw edges of the fabric over the batting on all four corners.
Step 3
Fold cotton and batting tightly over the board. Staple into place. Do the same on the opposite side. It’s okay to pull before using the stapler to avoid wrinkles.
Step 4
To avoid bulky corners, cut batting on each corner.
Step 5
Fold cotton and batting tightly on the remaining sides over the board, fold corners, and staple into place.
Say hello to your new portable pressing board!
One final note, avoid using steam with your board unless it has been previously varnished to avoid damaging it in the long run.
If you have any questions about this project, please drop me a line in the comments!
Stay weird!