Ironing fabric, pressing seams—it’s all a regular part of a quilter and sewer’s day. So why not make it fun? That’s been my goal this year. First, I bought a fancy dancy new iron, the Oliso Pro, at the International Quilt Festival show in April. It’s the kind that rests horizontally and makes a cute robotic sound when its resting legs come down. Then, for my birthday, Greg got me a Big Board ironing board topper.
From Big Board Enterprises, the Big Board measures 22″ x 59″, and it fits right over your regular ironing board. It’s made of wood, and it comes with a board cover and a piece of batting cut to size. I love it! It’s so nice for pressing seams once a quilt starts getting a bit bigger because you can press so much more of the quilt at one time.
And before the quilt gets that big, there’s lots of room to organize your pieces, too.
Since I do most of my cutting and pinning on the floor of my craft area, the board comes in handy for times when my joints need a break and I feel like standing. I have done a lot of pinning on the board, but I haven’t tried cutting yet.
Of course, the board is only as stable as your ironing board is and mine is a bit wobbly. But the board doesn’t make it any more wobbly, in my estimation. The board just makes ironing more fun!
A special thanks to Kelly Biscopink for turning Greg on to the Big Board!
Fun facts: Pressing is an up-and-down motion used to open seams; pressing doesn’t stretch or pull the fabric. Ironing is a side-to-side motion that is used for getting wrinkles out of fabric.
Christine Doyle 
Kelly B
/ July 17, 2013Yay!!!! Glad you love it! And WHAT is that deliciousness you’re making?!??! I see Tsuru!!!
Christine Doyle
/ July 17, 2013Ah, that little thing on the big board will be the topic of a post soon. I love Tsuru and the Charleson Farmhouse Dahlia print, so I wanted to figure out a way to show them big. More to come… (and thanks, again!).