Thursday, August 14, 2014

New Ironing Board Cover from Old Fabric



But I dearly love my ironing board. It came from Grandma (of course) and I've had it for quite a few years. It's pretty. It's sturdy.    


At one point someone sold it for twenty-five cents.


When Jo suggested that we spruce up our ironing board covers, my first thought was that I did not want to sew a casing. I wondered if it would be sacrilege to staple it to the backside of the wooden board. Once I saw how the old cover was attatched with rusty nails, all bets were off...


(I can't tell what that said. The combination of old-style cursive and faded marker was too much for me to decipher.)

I didn't know what I was  going to recover it with, just that it had to be something already in my stash.  My first plan was to dig out a cute vintage sheet, but in the dreamland where my sewing room is all clean and tidy and my ironing board is actually set up, I don't do cute and flowered and coordinated.

Then I remembered the feed sacks that I unearthed while I was looking for self-striping sock yarn. I wish that webpages could convey texture. The fabric is old and faded, but it feels absolutely yummy! And I can just imagine a housewife covering this wooden ironing board with something like this back in the day...


It reads "Cinncinati Seamless," which I guess is the company that manufactured the bag. There are a lot of these for sale on etsy. It's probably a good thing I didn't see those prices before I finished stapling it to my ironing board... although mine is faded and has a few minor holes.

I'd planned to strip the board down to bare wood, but the padding under the nasty silver cover looks really old and was reasonably clean, so it stayed. There's an exposed section at the narrow end. I haven't  decided whether to cut into the second matching bag to cover it, or leave it as-is for now. And I ran out of staples.

I do not iron clothes. Ever. When I  press fabric for my quilting, I use one of those June Tailor Cut'N Press boards at the kitchen table.  


Now, who can solve a mystery for me? I've seen a ton of these wooden ironing boards in antique shops, but never one with a metal plate for the iron to rest on. I didn't even know it was there until I took the silver cover off, and when I called Grandma, she'd never heard of such a thing. Google isn't providing me with any answers, either.

This post is linked to Vintage Thingie Thursday, Thriftasaurus, Share Your Cup, Ivy and Elephants, We Call it Olde, Savvy Southern Style, Thrifter Maker Fixer, Melissa's Antiques
For more finishes, check out  Sew Much AdoFinish it Up FridayCan I get a Whoop Whoop? and Freedom FridaysWonderful at Home, and Inspired Friday.

8 comments:

Oliva Ohlson said...

Great treasure, especially knowing it was your Grandma's. I've never seen or knew about old ironing boards having an ironing rest. Interesting.

Deanies Stash said...

I have bought a few over time that had the built in iron rest. Maybe they were more expensive so not as common? Just a thought. I love how you covered your ironing board.

InkkReviews said...

Very Cool! and that ironing board is such a treasure. can't believe it was once sold for 25 cents! Thanks for sharing. - Katie

sherry said...

A metal iron plate makes sense for the old irons that you had to heat on the stove - the whole iron would have gotten very hot, not just the bottom plate like in modern irons with heating elements. Nice to see history in action.

Audrey said...

Interesting ironing board and my first to see the iron rest. Nice story behind it in that it was your Grandmothers. What a treasure.
Audrey Z. @ Timeless Treasures

Melissa said...

Absolutely in love with your new cover! Thanks for sharing @ TTF!

annies home said...

love it such a great ironing board with a lovely new cover

come see us at http://shopannies.blogspot.com

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson said...

Love the new cover! I have an old ironing board in my sewing room and I love it too. I paid $4 for it at a yard sale years ago. Just made a new cover for it last week. I did do a floral stripe and made a casing, but your feed sack is to die for! I actually have 3 old ironing boards now and none have a built in plate. That's really unusual! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
hugs,
Jann

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