I love my steamer. In fact, my conventional iron and ironing board take so much more time that I rarely use them anymore. It is difficult to get a crease with my steamer, though, so when a friend told me about a pressing board that she made, I had to make one too. And, it works great.
Materials:
2 foot by 4 foot piece of a quarter inch of masonite or plywood
4 pieces of 1 foot by 2 foot pine boards that measure 20 inches long
Liquid nails
3 wood screws
6 nails
3/4 of a yard of 60-inch wide wool felt or 1 1/2 yards of 45-inch wide wool felt
3/4 of a yard of 60-inch wide fabric or 1 1/2 yards of 45-inch wide fabric
People are also reading…
Super 77 (or any super sticky spray adhesive)
Razor blade
Staple gun and staples
4 yards decorative trim
Hot glue gun
Decorative knob
Step One: Using a table saw, cut a 45 degree angle along one long side of two of the pine boards. You will attach one of these boards to the back of the plywood and the other to the wall, allowing you to "hook" your board onto the wall. (If you have no access to a table saw, try asking your local lumber yard to make these cuts for you, or simply hang this board on the wall like you would any heavy framed picture or mirror and skip step two).
Step Two: Center one of the boards you just cut near the top of the back of the plywood -- be sure to place it so it will hook onto its companion board that gets nailed to the wall. Center the other two boards on the back of the plywood too, with one in the center and the other the same distance from the bottom as your angled board is from the top. Once the boards are centered and level, attach the boards with liquid nails. Then turn plywood over and put three screws through the plywood and into the top angled board and three nails through the plywood and into each of the other boards.
Step Three: Spray Super 77 onto the front of plywood. Let it get tacky and carefully place felt onto the surface. Turn board over.
Trim felt 1inch larger than the board on all sides. Spray the back edges of the board with Super 77 again and press the felt onto the back of the board, pinching it together at the corners. Cut off the excess felt at the corners.
Step Four: Attach fabric to board the same way you attached the felt, but DO NOT cut off the excess fabric at the corners. Instead, fold and press the excess fabric to the back and staple in place. Depending on the size of the staples, you may have to ANGLE the staples so they don't poke through (photo e).
Step Five: Staple fabric all around board and cut some of the excess fabric out of corners with a razor blade. Using hot glue, cover staples with decorative trim.
Step Six: Drill a hole through the top of your board and attach a decorative knob.
Step Seven: Nail the second angled board to your wall, creating a "hook" for your pressing board. Be sure to nail into the studs.
