I was recently asked about some whining I did when dry cleaners pressed my outfits badly. It reminded me of what a ranter I can be! But honestly, I think that ironing is a hugely important factor in determining whether your creations will inevitably look polished & professional or home sewn & amateurish.
So I’m just going to say it right off…. if you don’t like ironing, sewing probably isn’t the craft for you!!!
So, some definitions:
- Ironing is when you slide your iron back & forth on the fabric to removed wrinkles.
- Pressing is when you place your iron on the fabric and then lift it repetitively, rather than pushing or sliding it.
There are a couple of good reasons why sewing & ironing go hand in hand:
- It’s impossible to make your items look polished without a good pressing. Especially when making tailored pieces and using fabrics like wool or tweed. Seams simply will not lie flat unless pressed, and you cannot achieve clean lines if your seams & hems are bubbling.
- Not ironing your fabric before cutting can result in inaccurate cuts, and as a result affect the overall fit and of course appearance of the garment.
- There are some techniques and projects you will never master if you refuse to iron. For example replacing darts with ease can only be done well if you press (I will post on this technique later), and you will not get a good pleat if you don’t press it
- Manipulating fabric. You can permanently change the shape of fabric through ironing & pressing. Of course this could be good or bad, depending on whether you meant to do it or not!!! For example ironing your fabric too much, can stretch it out, but ironing can help fix your mistakes. Yep it’s true. You wouldn’t believe how many of my mistakes I’ve fixed through pressing or ironing. Recently I was feeling lazy at the end of sewing a dress so instead of lining it or using facings, binding or whatever to finish the armsyces, I simply turned in the edges. It was a stupid decision as it resulted in the seams sticking up unattractively. But after a little pressing they looked perfect. Problem solved, butt saved!
I’m a bit of a minimalist when it comes to sewing/tailoring tools. I think that there is so much junk out there that retailers try to convince you to buy, when in fact you don’t really need it. Don’t get me wrong, I love tools and gimics, but there’s wisdom in not going overboard. Anyway, these are some ironing related things that I cannot live without:
- Tailors Ham. Mine was a gift from my mother in law and I love it! You could quite easily make a ham, you would just need to stuff it very firmly.
- Pressing cloth. I prefer store bought pressing cloths, but you could quite as easily use a clean handkerchief or piece of cotton muslin. When using a pressing cloth you need to put it over the area to be pressed, dampen (not wet) the cloth with some water, and then press on and off until the cloth is dry.
- Spray bottle of water. I like to use a spray bottle of water to dampen my pressing cloth with. You could just use the spray function on your iron, but as I press so much I end up constantly filling up the iron with water, so I prefer to have a separate source.
Some tips to remember:
- Press your garment as you are sewing. And always press seams & darts either open or to the side before you sew over them.
- Do not iron/press over pins. Not only is there the risk of them melting, but you can permanently distort the fabric in the places where the pins were.
- Prewash & iron your fabric before you cut it, trying not to change the shape of the fabric too much.
- Make sure that you are using the right temperature. You’d be surprised how much difference this makes. You can destroy a delicate fabric if you iron too hot, but some things like cotton will never look neat unless ironed hot.
- If you intend to manipulate your fabric, then test the technique out on a scrap piece first.
What kind of iron do you use? I’m in the market for a new one…
Thanks for the tips they’re very helpful. It’s funny, I can’t stand ironing unless I’m sewing, and then it’s an addiction.
I agree one hundred percent. When I took Home economics in high school this was pounded into my wee little brain. An iron is as important as the sewing machine. Without one the other cannot do it’s job well. I think a good quality steam iron is a must, but I don’t think it has to cost an arm and a leg. But, yeah, what kind do you recommend?
Hi ladies, my reply got rather long, so I decided to write a post instead… here’s the link to my recommendation for the best iron for sewing
[...] wanted to know what iron I use and recommend… I started to reply in a comment on my previous post about ironing & pressing, but it got, well, rather long. So I thought it might be better to write a post [...]
[...] wanted to know what iron I use and recommend… I started to reply in a comment on my previous post about ironing & pressing, but it got, well, rather long. So I thought it might be better to write a post [...]