How do you iron a shirt so it looks great?

[74Jamie]

Might seem an odd q but DH has recnetly asked me not to as i dont do a vey good job - how do you keep them crease free? and in what order doyou iron in?

I do yoke of back, arms, front panels, then back.

I am gobsmacked that we have a 'Good Housekeeping' section BTW

ah carry on being bad at it
collar first in our house

i think you are onto a winner if dh will do them himself! dh does the ironing in our house.

he does collar, sleeves & sholder, fronts then back. lots of steam and not too hot or cold.

Cuffs and collar
Shoulder placket if the shirt has them
sleeves
Front panels
Back

I was taught by my ex boyfriend's mother, a professional seamstress. I chucked her son soon after

Im no good at ironing, i would give ask my mum to do them or tell dh to do them his self

I do

Collar
Sleeves
Front sides
Back
then I run over the top of the back (shoulder bit)

No idea if that's the way it should be done, it's just the way I've always done it.

Some people swear by spray starch too (just a bit)

Ooooh, Marina, good to know I'm a natural

Collar first,the panal behind the neck,sleeves, front panel including where the buttons are,finaly the back and hang it straight up.

Or get him to show how,and take a long time to understand what he's doing

shirts should be very slightly damp to start with

collar from the back
cuffs from the inside
shoulders/ top of sleeves (pull over end of ironing board)
one side of front
other side of front
back
sleeves- iron from seam towards opposite edge BUT NOT QUITE ALL THE WAY, then flatten sleeves from top to bottom (IYSWIM)and run iron down the bit you left before

Hang on a hanger immediately

My mum taught me that way, Marina, but there was such a long lull between me doing it that way routinely and then ever doing it again that I forgot and now do front-back-front-placket+collar-sleeve+cuff-sleeve+cuff.

Must try to remember to do it the proper way if DH ever has to have another interview.

Oh yes tissy, quite right, no creases in sleeves!

\link{http://www.ehow.com/how_4180_iron-shirt.html\how to iron a shirt}

it's almost what I do, and I've only just found it

agree, JanH, hate sleeve creases!

I like Step 1 (actually that should occur in the shop before you buy it!)

My french ex-boyfriend's maman told me about the 'jeanette' - small ironing board specially for sleeves.
Technically I have one and use it but tbh nothing much gets ironed in this house
It is good for those creaseless sleeves though.

Interesting how a number of matronly ironing tutors have contributed to the demise of a relationship eh pruni.
How was she on vests...

Heh heh no she'd have been a great MIL, sadly her son was a bit of a psycho

if dh has told you not to iron his shirts that's a bonus as far as I'm concerned

keep pleading ignorance

i know i should be grateful but i feel bad as he does 2 jobs so i dont have to work - nver knew about the small ironign board thing, does anyone use starch ?? spray or powder in your wash?

Or place a nice brown iron mark on the front of an old favourite.
Or "iron" the lot without plugging anything in first, like our really sweet but clueless cleaner did once, bless...

DH's work shirt is the only thing I iron. Everything else is wash and wear. I do it straight from the washing machine, almost as per tissy's link and then I hang it on a hanger to dry.

Rarely iron since DH got a job Up Ladders, but when I do it's the same as everyone else - collar, cuffs, yoke, placket, front back, front (should we cross-reference to the brownie badges thread because I'm sure that was where I learnt)

have just made my first foray into spray starch, but for my linen trousers not DH's shirts. Does leave a good smooth finish and trous have stayed relatively crease-free all day, but had a bit of trouble getting the 'fine even spray' required and have large (invisible) stiff patch on back of left knee...

Sorry but what the hell is a placket and a yoke? Is this one of those cliques I keep hearing about where you need a password or something

Get DH to do it.

Or my 11 year old DS (taught by his dad lol).

I do collar, cuffs, sleeves, front, back, front, shoulders. And so does DH. But that is because my MIL was somewhat failing in her motherly duties so I had to teach DH.