Ironing and pressing are fundamental parts of the sewing process and help to make your project look polished and professional.
Ironing is where you move the iron back and forth across a piece of fabric to remove creases. Pressing is where you hold the iron on a certain area for a few seconds and then lift it up and move to another area and do the same thing, without the back and forth motion. You would do this to flatten a seam after sewing it, for example.
The main thing you need to do this is obviously an iron! But there are several other tools which you can use to support the process….
A tailor’s pressing ham - these are shaped like a ham and normally filled with sawdust. The rounded surface is perfect for pressing curved seams and shaping and moulding darts on a bodice.
Sleeve roll – this is made in the same way as the pressing ham but is in a tube shape so that it can be inserted into a sleeve to help press sleeve seams that would otherwise be inaccessible.
Cup mould – this does the same sort of thing as the pressing ham but is shaped to enable you to successfully shape and mould a cup on a fitted dress or corset. I have found they are less widely available but bought mine on Etsy and they can be made to match various different cup sizes.
Clapper – this is basically a block of wood which you can use to flatten a seam using steam. Its really helpful to use on fabrics that don’t press that well like wool which can sometimes bounce back up again even after pressing. You need to firstly finger press the seam open, then apply lots of steam by hovering the iron over the seam and then immediately place the clapper over the seam and hold it down until all of the steam has been absorbed – approximately five to 10 seconds.
Pressing cloth – this is used to provide a barrier between the heat of your iron and the surface of your fabric. It helps to prevent a sheen developing on the fabric and also stops the fabric melting or scorching. You can either buy a specific pressing cloth which is made from heat resistant material. Or you could make your own from a scrap piece of fabric such as organza which has a high melting point.
Cardboard strips – you might think this is a strange one but I have found this so useful. Cut some strips of lightweight cardboard and place them under your seams when pressing to avoid an imprint of the seam showing on the right side of the fabric.
Mini iron – sometimes a normal iron is just a bit too big to get into an area which needs pressing, for example the point of a collar. In those situations, a mini iron comes in very handy. Mine comes with various different attachments of different shapes and sizes so you can use the one that best fits your ironing needs.
Sleeve ironing board – this works in a similar way to the sleeve roll above but is an actual ironing board instead of a roll of sawdust! Once you have sewn the under seam of the sleeve you can pull the sleeve over the board to assist you with pressing.
So there you have eight tools to improve your ironing and pressing. None of them are essential but all go some way to levelling up your sewing results!
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