shhhh I have NO idea how to iron

[mollysmum82]

I have a deep, dark secret. I have never ironed. Anything. Ever.

My mum never ironed and her response to my complaints about my crinkled school shirt was "wear your jumper on top" ...whereas it should have been "do it your bloody self". Hence I blame her for my lacking in this lost womanly art ;)

So please help me. Looking shabby never really bothered me before because in my 20s I was quite pretty anyway. ;) But since turning 30 and having an ever expanding baby-led waistline I have realised the only way I'm going to look nice is nice clothes.

I tried oh so hard the other night. I filled the iron with water, I turned it on, I slid it across my clothes...but they just seemed to get more wrinkly. And I just got hot and stamped my foot a lot.

Please tell me what I'm doing wrong and let me look less shabby.

open the clothes out and slide over the ironing board- eg T shits and tops- don't try to iron a double layer.
everyone has their own method for shirts- I do them backwards to most people as I start with the body and finsih with the collar, but most people seem to do collar, sleeves and body. again, you have to make sure the buttons are open and do each part of the garment over the ironing board. If you iron a skirt or a dress, put the skirt part over the board, going into the skirt from the hem end, and rotate the skirt so you go round it.

is this making any sense?

what i am trying to say is you don't just plonk the item on the baord and iron through back and front layers at the same time.

I loathe ironing so very much that I only buy clothes that don't need it (doesn't help much if they are not your style).

Can include jersey fabrics and cord and such, but even things that are 'supposed' to be ironed can dry remarkably crease-free on a washing line or if arranged properly over a rack (don't have tumble-dryer). Relatively easy to find even quite smart women's clothing that doesn't need ironing :)

Obviously hereditary as I discovered one of my aunts independently does the same

Harder for men's clothing - luckily DP can work in jeans and t-shirt, and it's been his uniform of choice for as long as I've known him :o

We'll be stuffed when DC have school uniform though :(

Sorry, that's not telling you how to iron - just how not to! :o

My dad taught me how to iron, so I am good on shirts mainly.

Basically you've got to break each item of clothing down into the bits it was in before it was sewn together, and iron each bit (obviously don't actually break them down, just mentally divide them into sections).

With shirts I start with the collar, have the iron on hotter than the label says and steam. Then I do the left front panel, then the back, then the right front panel, then the 'yoke' bit and finish with the sleeves. If I can be bothered I would then turn the steam off and hot dry-iron the collar and button hole/ button bits and sleeve cuffs. It does make it look lovely and crisp but isn't absolutely necessary so I don't do it much!

The order doesn't really matter, the key is to think of each garment as its parts really.

Same as sex. Rub the warmed up hard thing over the softer parts until the job looks done. Some of them have a bit that squirts out fluid to aid the job. Largely, you find what feels right to you.

I get dh to do it.

it could also be that you have your iron on too cold a setting, I would use to much steam if you are not sure how to iron. You could also use a starch spray, but only use a little otherwise you get residue on the clothes. Practice makes perfect ...

Oh and make sure the clothes are a little bit damp first - dry clothes are a bugger to iron!

(Not that I ever do any ironing - I usually just leave it for DH to do!)

Failing all that, get on the Internet, find a local ironing service and send the clothes out.

Thank you ever so much