A new toy

I bought a new toy last week.  It's Dritz' Tailor board with clapper.

It sells for around $50 at JoAnn's (where I bought it) and other outlets, but I had a 60% off coupon.  It is used for a number of ironing functions while sewing.

The large platform is about the size of an iron plate, and allows for nice precise ironing.

But, that's not the coolest part.  There are several edges over which ironing can be done.  A gentle curve, and a sharper curve, both excellent for pressing curved seams into place. A long narrow edge for pressing seams. And several points for getting those corners nice and crisp.

Looks a bit otherworldly, doesn't it.

The clapper comes out and is used for "setting" seams and folds.  I learned about this during a class at Steve's Sew & Vac.  Steam the seam, or the fold and then firmly press the clapper down on it -- or even hit the seam or fold. Particularly good when you're using a fabric you don't actually want to touch with the iron.

It comes in pieces, and there were some comments that I had seen indicating that it was hard to assemble, but I had no issues doing it. The two screws for that little "handle" bit that holds the clapper in place cannot be done at the same time, and that was the only hold up for me. 

Dritz has a PDF of info about how to use their Tailor's board.  I've already used it a bit, and I can see that as I learn more, I will find it more and more useful.