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So I wanted a blocking board, I read the knitty tutorial and this post and thought that they were fine ideas. So we discussed it at our SNB and called around and couldn’t find Homosote anywhere. Granted that I don’t live in a huge city but we were all disappointed. Then I noticed people starting to use those foam puzzle pieces to block but it lacked the grid although it was nice and modular and large. I usually block on a yoga mat so I have 2 straight edges to work with so it seemed like a good choice to me. But I wanted that grid! Anyway I got the idea of combining the three ideas so here is what came of it.
Shopping/Equipment List:

Wood (I chose 2 ft x 4 ft, the foam is in 2×2 squares so figure out how much space you want and buy accordingly) I ended up using attic flooring which is very sturdy but rather heavy. They had it precut and were about to close which sort of narrowed my options.

Foam (each package has 6 2×2 pieces so again buy enough for what you want)

Spray Adhesive

Spray Starch (although I made my own using 2 tb of corn starch per 1 cup of water)

Iron

Ironing board or place to iron

Scissors

1 inch gingham check (enough to cover and wrap your boards)

Staple Gun and Staples

Hammer

Exacto Knife

Felt to cover the back (optional though I think its nice to have so you don’t scratch up your walls or tables)

Step One: Take your board and lay it flat.

Step Two: Place your foam on it. Now there are these little teeth like things all around it. Join two together and use one of the edging strips on one of the shorter ends. Slice off the teeth on one side so you have a straight edge. Use those sliced off teeth to fill in on the other side creating a straight edge. Go all the way around slicing and filling.

(click on this if you want to see more detail)

Step Three: Follow the directions of your spray adhesive and attach the foam to the board. Let it cure while you get to your ironing. (yes I said the most dreaded of words iron)

Step Four: Measure and cut your gingham. You want enough fabric to wrap around it and staple it I found it easier if I was more generous but it does add to the amount of fabric you have to buy.

Step Five: Take your cut gingham and your iron and make sure it is ironed and starched well. Also figure out where the edges will fall on your grid and iron them in. It sounds like it wouldn’t do much but for some reason it made a huge difference the one time I didn’t do it.

Step Six: take your wood/foam core and wrap and staple your fabric into place. My wood was about a half inch thick so about an inch with the foam this made it much easier to wrap so that the grid was square. I found it easier with a bit more to pull on than you will see in this photo.

Step Seven: Take the hammer and pound the staples flat.

Step Eight: Once you’ve done that cut your felt for the back.

Step Nine: Use more spray adhesive to secure your felt on the back. (ignore the not straight lines as I did it by eye)

Step Ten: Admire your board and repeat as necessary to create as many as you want.