This post – the fourth in the ‘Tools for Textiles’ series this year – is all about tools for making fabric lie flat and wrinkle-free. This is important both for dress-making and for quilt-making.
I own a large ironing board (seen below) which I use for ironing clothes. It does also come in useful for ironing fabric for dress-making and quilt-making so I can be sure that that the fabric is smooth and ready to use. By the way, I always wash and dry fabric before using it for quilts (see the post here to find out why).
For these tasks I use the iron below which is a steam iron (though the steam can be turned off).
I live in a hard-water area so I always use distilled water in the iron. Given that I live in an old cottage in a seaside town, it is perhaps not surprising that I own a de-humidifier. The water from the de-humidifier is perfect for the iron, so it is decanted into a suitable bottle and labelled, ready for use.
In contrast, in the studio I only use a dry iron. This is because I am pressing fabric when I am working on my quilts. I press each seam (to set the seam) and then press the two seam allowances over to one side (or occasionally press the seam allowances open, if the block requires it).
I have a small pressing board just to the right of my sewing machine and press as I go. With small pieces of fabric – including triangles – you don’t want to iron them as you risk stretching them out of shape. The aim is to set the seam and flatten the piece you are working on.
I also have a wool pressing mat (seen below) which is particularly good at achieving a really flat finish. It looks quite worn because it is well used!
I also have this useful portable pressing mat which is very useful for taking away on holiday or to quilting classes or retreats, as it is lightweight and has a cutting board on the other side. The brown marks on it arrived after I was giving a “tip” for making spray starch from a vodka and water mixture. Let’s just say that I won’t be trying that again anytime soon!
Below is a ‘tailor’s clapper’ used by tailors to improve the pressing of a suit seam. The seams are pressed open with a steam iron, the clapper is placed down on the seam and left until the fabric has cooled. This can be useful for garment-making at home. You can also use a tailor’s clapper yourself on top of a quilt-block seam to help it to lie flat after you have ironed it with your dry iron.
Below is another pressing aid, used mainly for dress-making. The tool is designed to rest on the work table in different ways so that you can place your sewing on the appropriate padded area and press individual parts of the garment.
Finally, I have a tailor’s ham which allows you to press a curved surface such as an armhole when you are making a garment.
Safety note: it is very easy indeed to leave an iron on by mistake. This is obviously a fire hazard. I label the plug for the iron, as seen, and I try to make sure that I unplug every electrical item in the studio when I finish for the day,
That’s it! More ‘Tools for Textiles’ next month.
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Amanda Jane Textiles 