Ironing Board & Pad Dilemma

Um... It depends which bit of the garment and what technique you are using...

For flat seams, yes, the above works well, but for collar edges, reveres, pocket flap edges, felled seams, and other thicker areas that need to be given a good hard edge, yes, you DO whack it - good and hard if necessary! This is one reason why a professional tailor's pressing board is wood based and non-folding, and sits on top of a sturdy tailor's table rather than being like a domestic ironing board. I'd dearly love to have one, but storage would be a problem. They are big and heavy!

I use a staple gun and staple it to the back of the board. When it gets grubby, I bin it and recover. Anything less firmly stuck down is liable to slipping and wrinkling in use.

Staple in place and trim off any spare. It won't fray away in the 3-5 years the cloth will last in normal use. I replace mine more often because I'm using it a lot on customer garments.

I just went down and measured mine: 10" long. Good luck! ;-)

Beverly

I like a longer one... I was introduced to them by a tailor with a 14 clapper, and a good heavy hand! I find that because I'm quite small, a bigger item with a good grip and more heft works better.

Nope, it's actually not smashing anything... you don't need to pound on it like you were driving 16d nails with a tackhammer. What you're trying to do is to get the fabric cooled and dried before you move it. The unfinished wood helps do that. Then let it sit on the ironing board till it's cool to the touch.

It only requires something akin to patting a horse on the neck -- you're not trying to beat it into submission.

Kay

Drill is a particular type of twill, a warpfaced, three-harness, left-handed twill. I rarely see it in stores, but I've got most of a short roll of heavy, white, dense, right-handed twill so that's what I use. At the current rate of use, I should run out about 2050.

And it's not at all difficult to put a casing around a piece of twill or drill.

Like Kate, I put down a piece of scrap fabric before starching. My covers get washed fairly often anyway because the cats think the ironing board makes a great spot for sitting in wait for the dog...

Kay

Eyelets, eyelet pliers and elastic. Or safety pins as "grommets" and elastic. Or the more conventional casing.

I have a large square of poplin pinned to the far edge of my board cover and I just flip it toward me when I need to use starch on something.

That was called "canton flannel" when I bought my piece. (It has a lot of other names, but I can't remember any.)

Then I discovered that I still had the other half of the duck I'd bought to make the previous ironing-board cover, so I still have the flannel. Nice to throw over a blanket on an ALREADY RUINED table when I want to iron yardage.

Joy Beeson

It's been delightful, this little visit to your forum. Very education. Thanks to all of you for your contributions. I plan to by a new cover with a thick pad then make a clapper from hardwood. In the meantime keep yer' irons hot!

Ah ha.... that might have been it. I've had it for some time now. Given their Amish clientele, Gohn Brothers uses the old names.