Repurposed Tablecloth

As you can see, I have been needing a new ironing board cover for A Long Time:
Pitiful. Just Pitiful.

I had a vintage tablecloth I had bought a number of years ago for a dollar or so. Since then, we bought a dining room table that was too large for it, and I thought it would make a cute cover.

I decided to make it easier on myself, so I bought a pattern (McCalls 2723) at the $1.99 sale at JoAnn's. I centered the pattern piece smack on the center of the design. Ooh, this went against my Mom's scotch-ness! (Remember drawing a picture right in the middle of a piece of paper, and your mom having to teach you to start in a corner, so you could get several drawings on a paper?)

I wanted it really thick, so I cut a piece out of cotton batting (warm and natural, $4.99 a yard on sale. I bought a yard and a quarter for this project.) Then I centered the batting on the ironing board, and traced around the actual board with a sharpie. I then folded and pinned the batting to the "new," smaller size, and cut two more pieces out of the batting...

...and sewed them to the bigger piece, using the marker-marks as a guide:

I then attached the batting to the fabric:

The pattern called for double wide bias tape, but I had a package of quilt binding in my stash. The color didn't matter, because this part is under the board:

The pattern called for 1/4" elastic, and I didn't have enough. I threaded crochet cotton through it, and here is the finished product:

I did my Saturday night ironing, and it was glorious! Of course, the thicker the pad, the better the ironing is, so this was heavenly, compared to what I had been dealing with.

I did pay about $6.50 for the batting, but since super-deluxe ironing pads are about $16.99 at Target, I still made out.

I was a little disappointed at the crochet cotton--I can't seem to pull it tight enough for my taste, so I may re-do it with elastic. I could have also done a layer of Insul-Brite (the stuff you put in potholders) for a heat-reflective thing, but I didn't have enough on hand, and didn't want to go back to the store.

With all of that tablecloth left over, I cut a few napkins--the designs are not centered, but for everyday lunches they'll be fun. I also cut a few pieces with individual "fruits" for future apron pockets.

I loved this because it was a one-evening job, and I got it done and put away before Charming came home. This is always a Good Thing!