The Big Board - For Big Jobs

When I was working for the quilt store making shop samples and custom-ordered quilts, I did a lot of pressing of big quilt tops I made. As many of you know, doing so on a regular sized ironing board is not easy. The owner of the shop had a big board at the store which she rarely used. Since I worked mostly out of my home, she suggested I take the board home with me to use.

Wow, I could hardly believe what a difference it made having that larger surface to spread out and iron on. I decided pretty quickly that I should have a big board of my own. I couldn't think of any reason why my husband and I couldn't make one ourselves rather than ordering one from a quilt supply catalog. Besides, do you know how much they cost in the catalogs? (Think of your checking account being depleted by over a hundred bucks.) Golldang, more than my quilting budget would allow.



Roy dug around and found a scrap piece of plywood, I bought some of the gray, shiny heat-reflective material at a fabric store and used a couple layers of Warm 'N Natural for padding. Not much to it actually. Dimensions of the board are 22" wide by 62" long.



We put a set of raised rails on the backside to hold the top securely on my ironing board.



The rails run the full length of the board.



This shot makes me feel a little dizzy, but it does show how the rails keep the big board stationary.



Now you have a large, flat, secure surface on which to lay out your quilt top for pressing. Just another really handy quilting "tool" to have. And if you can make one yourself, very economical.