Aha! and Wow

Well now thanks to this thread I now see I need a new gadget for my sewing room called a press board. What is its purpose? What is its size? What is its padding made of? Why does one need one? What is the difference of a press board to the good old ironing board?

I don't have a pressboard. I just stand my regular ironing board down a bit to be at my table level so I just roll around on my chair from machine to ironing board to do my pressing.

Yeah I know, leave the sucker full height and get off yer butt and get some activity going while you are sewing, says my mind......

~KK in BC~

Just a thought, and I haven't read all the replies you've gotten, so it may already be there. I have a flannel cloth that is already gridded. Could you use something like that over your new cover? It would cover up the shiny-ness, so you may not like it, but it could work. If you sewed it to your shiny fabric first, on the grid, of course, it wouldn't shift, so would be like a single covering.

René

I've got two possibilities in my quilt supplies. I am not sure which kind Polly has. There is usually less padding on these than on ironing boards so they work a little better for getting seams pressed really flat.

The first one is part of the first rotary cutting mat I bought. A portable pressing board and cutting mat that folds shut and has carrying handles. The cutting mat side just has a cutting mat glued in place. The pressing board side is a piece of thin plywood with a heat reflecting cover that has a little bit of padding under the cover. It's like a small square ironing board that lays flat on a table. The plywood is so thin that it has warped a little. You could make a better one with a spare piece of plywood and a piece of ironing board cover or even a folded old sheet. Just lay the fabric down wrong side up, lay board on top, pull fabric to back of board all the way around and staple gun it in place. Maybe add a layer of felt to the bottom so it won't scratch your table when you use it.

The other possibility is a little table top ironing board. Basically that is just a piece of plywood shaped like a mini ironing board with a little ironing board cover on it. Usually they have little feet hinged to the bottom, and they stand about 4 or 5 inches tall.

I've used my little ironing board more than the portable pressing mat, but probably because I worry about accidentally melting the cutting mat side. Debra in VA See my quilts at

Well dang! I have three of those little ironing boards here due to my kids all being cadets and needing their own board and iron! The oldest moved out and has left his behind and I think I now know a place to put that sucker! well if I have room...... one of those other little things sounds like a great idea in my small room I have too.

I never put much thought into the less padding flatter seam but it makes sense totally to me.

There is always so much to learn around here!!!!!!!!!!

~KK in BC~

I wish I were smarter. I know some of you do too. I just simply am not bright enough to give you a direct hit on the details of the press board I think is as important as the iron is. There's the June Tailor Press Quilter Square 'n Blocker and it looks like the site is

but when I tried to go back to that it says there's no such page. An identical press board (so it seems to me) is at and is called Shape 'N Press. I first started using one when blocking smocking (serious business) because the stuff wants to ka-boing out of shape if you are not determined. Either is a nice size for pressing, blocking and arranging. Either can be used safely on a fussy surface such as on top of your cutting mat or table. The only drawback for either is the cover; they do get grubby looking very quickly. How sweet it is to have that solved. Polly

The Shape 'N Press is made by June Taylor. I have one of those, and a large Cut 'N Press and one of the smallest of the Omni cut and press fold up ones too. They are all firmer than most ironing boards. I also use a piece of pressed board (we used to call it "masonite"??) that is a little less than a quarter inch thick (it was a shelf in a cheap, collapsible "wardrobe") covered with a piece of foil for pressing freezer paper to fabric. I also have a larger press "board" which is actually a cover that needs a board inserted, so far I use it laid on a table when I have used it. If you do both clothing and quilt pressing on the same ironing board, one or the other will be "not quite right". Clothes needs the padding because you don't generally want a "hard" press, but more of a "soft" one. Piecing really needs a very firm press to lay flat.

I have a "big board" that I got as a door prize at a guild chapter party. It is a piece of plywood with a layer of cotton batting covered with heavy, twill weave cotton fabric. It came with the smaller pieces to put on the back to "keep" it in position on the regular ironing board. I never got them put on, so I can turn the board around and just "slide" it off if I need to use the regular board for clothes. Love it.

When I learned to sew one of my instructors said that pressing/ironing was just as important as the sewing, and may take just as much, if not more, time.

Pati, > I wish I were smarter. I know some of you do too. I just simply am not

I'm with you on that one! If there was one piece of advice I could give every piecer, it would be to take pressing seriously. So many piecers work so hard on getting a perfect 1/4" seam, and then do a slap-dash job of pressing, making that seam nowhere near a quarter inch. :(

I am in awe at your inventiveness, Polly!

My June Tailer Cut n' Press gets warped with too much use (heat). So I purchased 2 silicone baking mats for a 10"x15" pan and stapled them next to each other on a 3/8" plywood board cut to fit by DH. Then I got the anti-slip shelf lining and stapled it to the other side. I then got the quilted silvery stuff from Joanns, sewed a binding on (extra wide for stapling) and then stretched and stapled to the board. I don't have any heat transfer to my cutting mat underneath and it's really sturdy.