You’ve probably got a well-stocked laundry room with a nice ironing board, or at least an ironing setup that you use regularly to iron sheets, shirts, or blouses. But are you limited to that for your pressing needs when deep in a sewing project? A trip to the laundry room is not on my list of favorite activities when I’m deep into a creative mood, and setting up the ironing board in my sewing room by the craft table is not a much better option. The board is big, it’s bulky, and it’s ugly; and it sometimes seems that it stifles every last bit of creativity.
What a serious sewer needs is an ironing mat that can fit on the sewing table next to the sewing machine; an ironing mat that can be used with a half-swivel turn of the sewing chair, without having to get up at all. That way there’s no fuss, no hassle, and no inconvenience when a pressing need comes up: you can iron right at your work station.
When it comes to ironing mats there are more than one best; which you choose will depend on your own sewing needs and your own personal definition of ‘best’.
The Best Ironing Mat
If the best ironing mat is, to you, something that does its job and just that, something that is basic and no-frills but at the same time super-good at what it does, what you might be looking for is the Dritz Ironing Blanket. Here’s a high quality ironing mat that is heavy duty, heat-reflecting, and as scorch resistant as you can get a nylon pad. The bottom of this pad is rubberized, so it won’t slide about on your sewing table, and the pad is substantial enough that your work surface is well protected from the heat.
If you use a lot of steam, you are warned that the protection may not be fool-proof; so save your heavy steaming for times when you’re using the Dritz Ironing blanket on a surface that is already heat resistant. Still, under normal circumstances it offers pretty good protection.
This ironing mat is about 13 by 12 inches; so large enough for most projects—especially if you move them around as you iron—but not too large that it can’t fit comfortably on your sewing table. When you’re done with it, fold it up and put it in a drawer; next to your mini-iron might be a good place.
Click here to buy the Dritz Ironing Blanket on Amazon right now!
The Dritz ironing blanket is a quality product; no question about it. But for some of us, best doesn’t mean no-frills basic; it means a high quality product that can be used for many different purposes and many different ways, doing a stellar job in each case. If that’s your definition of best, what you’re looking for may be the Omnigrid 12-Inch-by-18-Inch Fold-Away Portable Cutting & Pressing Station.
Here’s a fold-away ironing mat and cutting station in one: perfect for using beside the sewing machine as well as for folding up and taking away with you whenever you want to sew-on-the-go. One nice thing is that you can fold this mat with one side under the other, and use either the self-healing, gridded mat or the non-stick ironing surface depending on what you are doing at the time. Or, if you’ve got the space (12×18 twice over), leave it open all the way and get your cutting and pressing both done without any workspace changes.
There’s a reason this ironing mat has all-star reviews: it’s unquestionably the best in its field and is perfect to use both for at-home pressing and for on-the-go projects.
Click here to buy the Omnigrid Cutting and Pressing Station on Amazon right now!
Don’t drag that big ironing board upstairs again, and don’t migrate down to the laundry room with your cut pieces. Do yourself a favor and get a ironing mat for your sewing corner now.