Tuesday 4 June 2013

A Pressing Need!

I have 2 mini ironing boards in my classroom (you know the cute Ikea ones!), the covers of which were in dire need of replacing.

So I used one of the covers as a template, a duvet cover, some bias binding and hey presto!

ironing board cover 017

I even re-used the Ikea wadding and cord!  Unfortunately I'm out of Insul Brite (heat resistant wadding) so I put in an extra layer of thick wadding I've had kicking around underneath the Ikea wadding.

Now my first attempt (see the flat one?) turned out beautifully, because I sewed the binding on without the cording, thinking I could thread the cording into the casing using a safety pin!

ironing board cover 018
Please excuse my mis-matched bias binding!  I ran out of green!
Sadly, the pin kept getting stuck on bits of fabric inside the casing, so that was the end of that idea!  I also tried a darning needle with a big enough eye to take the cord, but it was too big to slide easily through the casing!

So for the 2nd cover, I sewed the bias binding onto the front of the cover, flipped it over and then sewed in the cording at the same time as sewing down the binding.  Not as neat a finish, but completely functional!

Ironing Board Cover

Now my question to you lovely, clever readers!  Is there any way I can thread the cording into the casing of my first cover, without having to unpick it all and sew it in the 2nd way?

Jxo

15 comments:

  1. Hi Jude, great job, I have a thingy that does this. Like a large darning needle but blunt. Will post in the morning?

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  2. What a difference! Sellotape it to a crochet hook?

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  3. clean seam, things look good.

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  4. Very timely. I just received a load o bias binding and some gingham to cover my shameful board too, so I can copy you :-). I presume you've tried a blunt bodkin? I'll try to bring one tonight to see if it would work for you.

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  5. Nice recovering job. No bright ideas regarding the cording issue. Di x

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  6. Just a thought, could you elasticate it instead? or would you need to have cut it a bit bigger to begin with? You know, the way you do Pyjama waists, sewing the two raw ends together and then sewing the elastic on stretching it as you go?

    they are really pretty, and will cheer you every time you use them!

    Oh, and another ( stupid ) thought... You do not need the insul-brite, as you do not have a surface needing protection- so the wadding is probably better, unless the insul-brite would reflect the heat back?

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  7. Love the quilt cover choice

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  8. Erm, I use a bodkin, which is built for the job

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  9. Looks good, I'm no use on the advice front, lots of ideas to try, should keep you busy! :o)

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  10. Hoping Sarah and her blunt bodkin have sorted it out! :)

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  11. Hi Judith! I have make as you, elastic ribbon through with the safety pin. But if it stucks very much, perhaps you could use just think ribbon/string. I saw that some covers in the super market has very thin 'plastic rope'. I hope you can fix it easily. x Teje

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  12. I am glad others knew the name of the thingymajig I was going to tell you to use!!

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  13. Guess you have threaded it already, I am slacking, sorry xxx

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  14. Oh thank you Judith. I've been needing to make my ironing board a new cover for a while (been through two store bought that didn't even fit properly since Christmas) but didn't know how to go about it. You've showed me to (and how not to) all in one post!

    If it hasn't been sorted yet have you tried threading a thinner thread through the casing first, tying this to the cord and then pulling it through?

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Thank you for taking the time to leave me a comment. I really appreciate it & I will always reply. (If you don't get a reply from me it is because you are a 'no reply comment' blogger. You might want to change your blog settings to make sure folks can reply to your comments more easily.) Jxo