Mini Ironing Board

I always need a small ironing board to slip in sleeves or pant legs or use for smaller projects and I am too cheap to pay $15-$20 for a board with fabric on it.  So, here is my solution...

Finished mini board

First I started with a scrap piece of 2x4 I got from the hardware store for a few dollars. It is approximately 6" x 18". You need a heavy duty staple gun shown here.  I had a scrap piece of 100% cotton batting and stapled it to one side.

 *Make sure to use 100% cotton both for the batting and for the cover fabric as it will hold up to the heat of the iron.*

Pull the batting around the other side and staple before trimming away.  Notice the one end at the top: the batting is flush with the edge of the wood where the other side the batting is longer.

Trim the batting away close to the staples on the side and approximately 2" longer on the end.  Pull end up and staple then trim batting away to reduce the bulk and staple to cover the corners of the wood.

Once you have chosen the fabric you want, roughly cut it like you are going to wrap a present.  I had an unused bed sheet that already had one end finished (on the right) but if you don't, you will need to stitch or surge the open end for a nice finish. 

I then wrapped it snug and pinned along the pinch.  Slip the cover off and sew along the pinned edge and then along the unfinished edge.  Turn inside out and slip onto the board.  You are finished!