Comments on: Must Have Pressing Tools for Quilting Projects

By: Melissa Mortenson

Melissa Mortenson — Sun, 22 Oct 2023 22:47:35 +0000

In reply to Brenda Cates. Good tip! Great to save fingers from getting burned!

By: Melissa Mortenson

Melissa Mortenson — Sun, 22 Oct 2023 22:47:10 +0000

In reply to Linda Sapp. Thanks for the tips! I have a few white button downs that I love to wear but have had a hard time getting them crisp! I'll have to try your tips next time I press them.

By: Melissa Mortenson

Melissa Mortenson — Sun, 22 Oct 2023 22:46:13 +0000

In reply to Linda Jennings. I haven't cleaned one before, but my guess would be to soak the stain with water then place a clean rag on the top to absorb the stain. You could also use an iron on top of the rag, you need to pull the stain out of the mat, but it needs somewhere to go, hence the rag.

By: Linda Sapp

Linda Sapp — Sun, 22 Oct 2023 22:29:49 +0000

Hi Melissa, I know what you mean about having the proper ironing equipment. I’m 81 years young and when my husband and I were younger, he wore Arrow shirts with button-down collars to work. He’s a chemical engineer so he also wore jacket, tie and slacks. I did a lot of shopping for him and he always looked so handsome. One time one of his secretaries asked him where he had his shirts done because they were always pressed perfectly, even the long sleeved ones and he simply replied “My wife does them!” That made me very proud that I took the time to do the job well. He even had some all cotton shirts that were very hard to iron but I always did justice to them. I had a great, old steam iron and used spray starch, especially on the collar, buttons side and button hole side of the shirt. A swift spray on the rest of the shirt made it all so easy. And the other thing was my ironing board, which I still have and use to this day. I bought it at the Sears and Roebuck store in our town and love it. I have bought and replaced the cover several times (usually putting the new one over the old one) and now it’s so thick and nice to iron those button-down collars on or the sleeves or the front of the shirt front with all the buttons on it. Also, you can adjust it up and down and it rolls on wheels so it folds up and can be stored away very easily. I don’t have to do that ironing anymore because he’s retired but now it’s mending things and quilting. I have a small space near my sewing area where I iron with a tiny iron and use starch sometimes, then put on a clapper to set the seam. I’m left-handed (like Jenny Doan) and have my favorite scissors. I even have a pair of old pinking shears but they need sharpening and I found out that they are the devil to try to sharpen. Guess I’ll wait and think about that.
I enjoyed your article very much. Oh, my ironing was usually done on Sunday evenings in our finished basement with the ironing board set to a lower position so I could sit, iron and watch my favorite shows. That was before the new TV’s came out and you need 3 or 4 different controllers to turn on the TV and then another one to select a show to watch. Seems so much more complicated, doesn’t it? Guess we never really stop ironing. Linda
PS: My mother and my mother-in-law both owned machines called “mangles”. I learned how to use my mother’s and got to be very proficient with it. Could even iron a man’s shirt with it. Fantastic machine but of no use in today’s world except maybe at a place that does shirts for you.

By: Brenda Cates

Brenda Cates — Fri, 20 Oct 2023 00:57:14 +0000

My “can’t do without tool is my purple thing

By: Linda Jennings

Linda Jennings — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 13:28:17 +0000

Hi, how do you clean a wool pressing mat? Mine has brown stains on it from my Rowenta iron (1-2 yrs old) It’s not suppose to leak, but it does. It just ruined a label I made for a baby quilt with brown stains, I’m trying to get them out. It has a baby sleeping on a cloud embroidered on it and says Welcome Baby and the date. I don’t want to make a new one if I don’t have to, it’s a lot of thread, and a lot of time to do it.
Any ideas please?