Not all clothes are supposed to be ironed. But those that may need it, ironing is a pretty much straightforward process unless you have never done it before. To iron clothes, you will have to prep your materials beforehand. Different fabrics need different styles of ironing. After that, you can start ironing your clothes. If you have never ironed before you should be careful with the iron as it can be hazardous and cause serious burns. In this guide, we are going to show you how to iron clothes in simple steps.
There are many techniques of ironing clothes, but in this article, we are going to cover ironing by type of fabric.
Let’s start “how to iron clothes” in-depth:
Step #1: Gather the necessary tools
Before plugging in your iron, be sure to have all the equipment required for the job assembled. The last thing you want is fumbling with a super hot iron box when some of the clothes are not even in the room.
You will need a place over which you will iron your clothes. It should be large and flat. Moreover, you will also need an unused cloth to cover your delicate items.
Step #2: Sort your clothing by fabric
Different fabric requires a different way of ironing and different heat. Arrange your laundry by material, starting with cotton clothing, silk clothing and so on. Since the iron gets hotter the more it stays in the power, start ironing the clothes that require minimum heat and then move up to ones that require high heat seating.
For example, acetate, rayon, wool, and silk require a low heat setting, so should be ironed first as the iron box is starting to heat up. For silk and rayon clothing, make sure to turn them inside out before ironing.
As for polyester clothing, use medium heat to iron, while cotton usually requires high heat. Also, be sure to sprinkle a little water on polyester and cotton clothing before ironing.
Step #3: Ensure your iron is ready
Modern iron boxes usually indicate when they are ready for use, but each iron or brand has its way of indicating. In general, a light may either turn off or on, or an icon may display to indicate that it is now read. So make sure to wait for the sign before you begin using the iron. Using cool iron is ineffective and may ruin your cloth.
If you are not sure how your iron indicates it is ready, read the manual or visit the brand website under the product specification to find instructions.
Step #4: Use a moist cloth when ironing wool and lace
Delicate materials such as lace or wool can burn if they came in direct contact with the hot iron. So avoid ironing them directly. Instead, use a damp cloth on top of lace or wool, then iron.
But the cloth must be damp and not soaking wet. If you are unsure of the material of your cloth, you can always find useful information on the label.
Step #5: Make sure polyester and fabrics are damp before ironing
Don’t iron your polyester or cotton cloth while dry. Make sure they are slightly wet before ironing. You and simply spritz the cloths with a spray bottle filled with distilled water to get them damp. Alternatively, you can pull the polyester and cotton clothing out of the dryer before they are completely dry.
Step #6: Turn cloths with delicate material inside out before ironing
Soma fabrics are very delicate that ironing them directly can cause some burns or damages. The following fabrics should be turned inside out before ironing: linen, corduroy, rayon, satin, and silk.
Step #7: Ironing
When you iron a dress shirt, make sure you start from the collar down. Start in the middle of the underside of your collar and proceed to the edge. From there, move back to the middle and work your way to the other edge. Drape one side of your short’s shoulder over the edge of the board and iron from shoulder to the back. Repeat on the remaining side. When ironing the shoulder, work from the cuff up to the shoulder.
Iron your pants from the waist to the legs. But start by turning it inside out and iron the pockets. If they don’t have pockets, just proceed with ironing without turning it inside out. Drape the waist section of the pant over the iron board and iron the waist.
Then lay the pants flat on the iron board, with one leg on top of the other. You can fold the pants in half horizontally, and ensure the seams and legs are lined up. Fold the top leg over the waist and iron the back of the bottom leg flip the pants over and iron the other side using the same process.
Iron your dresses from the collar down that are if it has a collar or the sleeves. If this is the case, just follow the same procedure you use when ironing the shirt.
For the skirt, simply drape it over the board and iron upward, from the bottom to the waist. If your skirt is designed with ruffles, make sure to iron it from inside so as not to flatten the embellishing.
Last but not least, iron the buttons around, like dresses and skirts, tend to have pretty delicate buttons that can burn or damage.
Final Thoughts
Ironing clothes is quite an easy task especially for those who iron often. But even if you have never ironed before, the process is intuitive and simple if you know how to iron different cloths with different fabrics. Whether you are new to seasoned ironer, you need to be careful with a hot iron. If you get burned by an iron, treat it quickly to relieve the pain. Never use oil, ice, butter, or soy source on burnt skin, as this can aggravate the damages. Hope this how to iron clothes guide will help you!