DIY Ironing Board Re-cover

I love my ironing board. I actually use it and it makes my clothes look fantastic but I don't love it when I can't take a picture of a tutorial I'm working on and have a nasty looking cover to accompany pictures. It just doesn't look right. 

Exhibit A: 

And here, against my better judgement is proof of what I mean when I say "a nasty looking cover": 

Ugh, so embarrassing! But, hey, I'm human and not prone to sudden urges to tackle awkward issues such as these. Enter in the clearance fabric section of Walmart and I had a light bulb moment. For $2.50 worth of material (that's 2 1/2 yards of material) and some binding tape that Granny gave me I tackled this issue. 

Here's the material that caught my eye: 

This ditsy little print was actually kinda cute and out of my norm. I figured it was perfect. Only prob was that it was thin. That light bulb flickered again and said, "Just keep the material folded!" That made sense. 

Now, before I begin note that not all ironing board covers are the same. Mine has a sewn in elastic band which was held in with binding tape. All I took apart was the binding tape and elastic band and the nose. 

So I laid the fabric out, laid the cover face down on the material and pinned it down solid. 

Zig-zag stitch your way around it. 

Cut off the access material. (And snap a quick picture of Charlie who was loving this project and the scraps which he claimed as his from the other cats!)

I then cut out a matching tongue part which hugs the nose of the ironing board, sew right sides together then flip out. 

Next, use the binding tape (Thanks, Granny!) and stitch your way around the entire cover. Be sure to follow the directions on the package!

Once you have the first seam done then you're going to flip right side out and stuff the elastic cord into the binding before pinning down. Stitch it all the way around again and you're done! 

Put that bad boy on and get to work ironing whatever clothes are stacked up around it. 

Since we're at the end, I have a few more pictures of Charlie that I took during. He was quite the little helper. I've never been able to work on any projects like this before and get to enjoy him getting a kick out of it and getting to snuggle up mid-project. 

He's checking it all out. 

He wanted the backs of his ears scratched. Little Love Muffin Man that he is. 

How can you not love that face? He's the apple of my eye. 

This is a first. He laid right down on my project and I'm so in love with this little baby I let him stay. 

So...in a nut shell this wasn't the easiest project that I've ever tackled but it only took me a couple of hours tops (and that's including me starting dinner and walking away and doing something else in the middle of it.)

Hope this inspires you! 

Hugs,
A.