Mrs Bowden’s top tip – pressing equipment

Really? I beg to differ!

Pressing is such an important part of sewing that learning to do it as you go along is really helpful. Having the correct equipment is terribly important too.

A well padded and sturdy ironing board

Ironing board – get a stable board with plenty of wadding underneath the cover to protect seams when pressing.

S.leeve board – essential for helping get to ‘difficult’ places

Sleeve board – a great asset to ironing sleeves or circular items or for getting a little darts, tucks and facings on garments.

An iron with variable heat and steam settings.

Iron – temperature control and variable steam settings so you can control the heat you are applying and where you are putting it!

A pressing cloth to protect fabric.

Pressing cloth – an old lawn handkerchief or piece of fine cotton fabric is ideal for laying over your work when pressing – again to protect the fabric from ‘shining’ through over ironing.

A Tailor’s Ham

Tailor’s ham – this is a very useful firm cushion which fabric can be laid over to protect curves – e.g., when pressing a dart you can lay it on the ham to iron and smooth the dart over without flattening it too much. Also great for working with wool to steam shape into a sleeve head or collar.

In stitches,

Amanda x

Ps – watch out for next week’s top tip…how to make a Tailor’s ham!