Good Sewing Requires Good Ironing

My Home Ec teachers graded harder on ironing a garment than they did on the construction. They knew that some construction techniques take loads of practice to learn. They believed that good ironing habits had to be drilled into young heads from the very start because lets be honest, sewing is fun ironing is not. But fact is that the look, hang and feel of a garment on the body has as much to do with good pressing as it does with good construction.

If you've ever done much ironing you also know you get what you pay for when buying an iron. Buy a cheap iron and you have to watch it every second to make sure it's not scorching you clothing or that it's actually steaming and not leaking. My own iron is middle of the road. The most frustrating part about it is that there is no hot/dry setting, if you need to iron something on a high setting but dry your just out luck cause the higher the heat the more steam you get.

I've been wanting to replace it for awhile now but have always found something else I needed/wanted more.

But maybe luck will be my friend soon and I'll win this lovely piece of homemaking magic from Bitter Betty.

Bitter Betty is having a give-away for this iron. All you need to do is visit and leave a comment. Then you too will have a chance to upgrade your ironing skills.

Betty also has 3 pages from White's Sewing Manual circa 1947 about good pressing skills. I plan to print them out, put them in sleeve protectors and add them to my sewing binder.