S/o Do you iron your sheets?

[heartlikealion]

Yeah, that's what I keep imagining too.

 

The only way I can see doing it is to put the fitted sheet on the bed, then iron it while it is on the bed. Seems simpler, no? (We don't use top sheets because we use duvets.) Sheet ironers -- can it be done this way or is that heresy?

 

The entire idea seems confusing to me, but I imagine ironed sheets *do* feel nice.

 

I've never liked ironing on beds. I really want the flat hard surface of an ironing board. Some people do fold up the tiny ironing boards and place them on the bed. I guess you could do that. It just seems like a lot of work! I think if you get them out of the dryer early enough they aren't too bad.

 

[heartlikealion]

Yes.  But, I like to iron. 

 

I'm pretty sure I'm not a psychopath.

 

I do not judge unironed sheets or the people who prefer them.

 

Oh I'm sure they're nice. Just not motivated enough to try. How do you do it? Do you use the ironing board upright or iron it on the bed or..?

 

[IfIOnly]

This is the joke at our house! I had an iron. It disappeared sometimes during our last two moves. Along with the board. I am ironless. I do own a steamer. And am on first name basis with the Dry Cleaners. They do my ironing for me!! :) I looked at irons not too long ago at Walmart and they were more expensive than I remembered. I would rather support local business I decided. ;)

The thrift stores have lots. I had to buy one for AWANA badges this year after giving mine away to one a decade ago. :P

Edited May 18, 2017 by ifIonlyhadabrain

[Seasider]

Weighty ones don't work for what I do. I use this red and white model in the video at the highest setting. I spray spray starch into a jar or drinking glass (it starts our foam but becomes liquid quickly) then use a paint brush to brush the starch on the edge of the fabric. Then I use the mini iron to press it around the template. It edge stays pressed over perfectly. A heavy iron would make that much harder.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a_eYPfCaIA

 

Wow! Thanks for the link! The "mini" irons I've had were exactly that - miniature versions of a traditional iron. That tool you linked is brilliant! I don't do fancy curves, but I do want to press the small seams of straight piece work. I've not made anything in a few years due to other obligations, but I'm ready to get back at it. I think I'm gonna need one of those gadgets! Thanks!

[KatieJ]

I do iron all my DH shirts, dress or work. I have no control over what shirts they buy him and some of them are 100percent cotton . I have no choice but to iron them. A few of them he now uses for yard work because they are comfortable. I still iron them .

 

While I don't love it, I don't mind either. He has enough shirts for several weeks, so,I put on a movie and iron for a while.

 

Sheets??? Never!

 

I use my iron for sewing almost daily so I end up buying a new one every few years.

[Alessandra]

Times change.

 

When I was a child we had a mangle (a huge machine) for sheets and a laundress who came in for a full day once a week and ironed. Linen sheets really do need ironing.

 

As a young adult, I had all cotton sheets. I ironed the pillowcases. I also ironed the folded over part of the top sheet while it was on the made-up bed.

 

Now. Well, when my kids were in elementary school, I had to iron a costume. I used an ironing board. Dd came home and was terrified by the never before seen ironing board, thought it was a monster of some sort.

 

The one thing I do iron is the hem of scout pants. It is easier to sew them if they are folded up and pressed, rather than just pinned. But I just put a towel on the kitchen table, no ironing board.

 

I found out a few months ago that one of my friends irons just about everything. She works full time, finds ironing soothing.

 

Ds has a new shirt he asked me to iron. I told him that I will look for the iron, explain how it works, and introduce him to pressing cloths. So far, he has stopped asking.

Edited May 18, 2017 by Alessandra

[AMJ]

I saw the good old days thread with the woman ironing her sheets. I know it used to be common. Does anyone still do it?

 

 

I iron the top border because if I don't it tends to bunch and form uncomfortable wrinkles in places other than where the fold crease is.  I have also found that when the makers of the sheet cheaped out and used thread that shrinks more than the sheet fabric (causing the material to bunch a bit) ironing with plenty of steam helps relax the tightened stitches just a tad and helps to flatten the sheet just a bit.

 

I no longer iron the main body of my sheets.  I don't sleep well if I am lying on wrinkles so I used to think I needed to iron my sheets fully.  I have found, however, that if I pull the sheets taut when I make up the bed my body weight and warmth usually flatten out any wrinkles I might be on top of.  

 

I have also learned a few lessons regarding thread-count:

• lower thread counts wrinkle and crumple less than higher thread counts
• lower thread counts sleep cooler, and higher thread counts sleep hotter

As a result I am rather picky about my sheets: lower thread count, cotton-poly blend (wrinkles even less), non-fancy/non-fussy borders (I don't like the lumps and ridges the extra "decorations" add to the sheet), and I'll go for overall size (I like plenty to tuck in at the foot) over pretty colors or patterns.

[AMJ]

LOL Maybe I should have asked if anyone irons at all anymore or if anyone owns an iron or if anyone knows what an iron is or if they still sell them. I, myself, have probably used one about 5-6 times in the past 15 years so I understand. I probably don't know how to iron well enough to iron sheets in a way that would make them look any different.

 

 

When I was in college, and when young and single and working, I used to find ironing calming, almost like a meditation, and I could get a nice look on my clothes without spending the money to have a service do it (they always put creases where I didn't want anyway).

 

Now that I'm living in a hotter environment and always have too many things clamoring for my attention I don't iron as much anymore, but I will still iron.  There are certain much-loved dressy clothing items I have that I don't wear often, and when I do I want them looking their best, not just-pulled-from-the-dryer.  I have a pair of pants I wear every couple of weeks which has a waistband that tends to bunch up in the wash -- I iron just the waistband and am happy.  I have another pair of pants I wear about once a month that just hangs funny on me if I don't iron them, so I do.

 

As I posted earlier in this thread I iron the border on my flat sheet, so I will usually time the ironing of the items mentioned above so that I'm doing all of them in one go.  It doesn't take long, and I only end up pulling out the iron two or three times a month.

 

 

I also use my steam settings to block my crochet.

[AMJ]

I love ironing. I love the peacefulness of it- the swishy noise of the steam and and the beautiful clean laundry smell. It makes me happy. If I had more time I would probably iron a lot more. For now, I regularly iron my husband's work shirts, a few of my shirts or dresses, the napkins for our Sunday dinner, and various other things when needed. I love the crispness of our cloth napkins. It just makes me feel so special with our Sunday dinner. I don't really have time to iron them for everyday. I do have a nice iron that my Grandma gave me before she died- it works wonderfully and reminds me of her.

 

I don't regularly iron our sheets but just take them warm out of the dryer and put them right on our bed. They are crisp and wrinkle free and so very nice. I bought super high quality ones so that helps too. :)

 

 

:iagree:

[magnificent_baby]

What??? No way! I don't even iron clothes let alone something I sleep on.

[Audrey]

Wait, are you the one who washes her windows every day?

 

Every week.

[Audrey]

Oh I'm sure they're nice. Just not motivated enough to try. How do you do it? Do you use the ironing board upright or iron it on the bed or..?

 

 

Ironing board.  I use the fold-as-you-go method.  That's just how I was taught to do it.

[1GirlTwinBoys]

I've never done that

[LucyStoner]

I iron the edges of the flat sheets every few washings to keep them from doing that accordion like crease that is so common, which weakens the fabric and wears holes into the sheets. I also iron napkins and my husband's shirts. And some of my dresses and shirts need it. Also, lately some quilting.

 

I used to iron flat sheets all the time. Then I didn't at all for quite some time - too busy. THEN I had to rag bag several newer not-cheap sheets because of that accordion creasing issue. Once a sheet gets a little hole it can get destroyed pretty fast.

 

I have a very nice iron. It was a lot of money but it's in its 17 or so year so I think I'm getting my money's worth.

 

I am not an "uber housewife", not by half. I did, however, work at a B&B in college and we ironed the sheets there. Slipping into a bed with ironed sheets is pretty awesome.

 

I bought a set of "wrinkle free" 100% sheets from Land's End last year by accident and those things are weird. I prefer plain cotton and I don't buy the cotton poly blends so that informs my choice to iron them at least sometimes.

[Laura Corin]

I iron the edges of the flat sheets every few washings to keep them from doing that accordion like crease that is so common, which weakens the fabric and wears holes into the sheets.

 

What are these flat sheets of which you speak?  Fitted sheets and duvet covers here.  It doesn't get very hot though, so the lightest covering we might need in the summer would be a (double thickness) duvet cover with no duvet.

 

[momacacia]

😂

[LucyStoner]

What are these flat sheets of which you speak? Fitted sheets and duvet covers here. It doesn't get very hot though, so the lightest covering we might need in the summer would be a (double thickness) duvet cover with no duvet.

 

Don't get me started. My husband needs that top sheet. The way some people need tea and the way I need skating. Life doesn't continue without it.

 

Me? So long as there's a blanket, I'm good.

 

It's a mixed marriage.

[Garga]

I iron sheets that I'm using as a backdrop for photography and it's a pain. The pool on the floor and re-wrinkle.

 

Other than that, my dh loves to iron. He finds it relaxing. So we air dry the clothes and he irons the ones that are too wrinkled to wear without embarrassment.

 

If he didn't iron, I'd use the dryer and I wouldn't iron. I iron clothing about once every year or two.

[Moonhawk]

30 years ago I stayed at my parents overnight for a job interview. In the morning before the interview, I ironed the front of my blouse. My mom was horrified. I told her I wasn't taking my suit jacket off so there was no need to do sleeves, shoulders or back.

 

 

Oh man, I would consider that an open invitation to fate to somehow manage to wreck my jacket and make it so that I have to take it off. I refuse to wear pajamas in the car, even for a quick errand (there's a famous family story about a late-night pickup with the driver in PJs and a fender bender), and I always make the kids take shoes in the car, just in case.

 

You're a brave soul!

 

I remember in 6th grade, Molly M.'s parents were away and she was being watched by her sister, I think 18. Anyway, she's getting ready for school, and her uniform shirt was wrinkled. She asked her sister to iron it. Her sister said no, it will "iron itself out" after you wear it for a bit. So Molly decided to iron it herself, despite not knowing how.  

 

She came to school in a shirt with a big brown iron mark melted into the front of her shirt (She had no other clean shirts for uniform dress). The rest of the shirt was still wrinkled. I always think about her when I am tempted to half-iron a shirt, even though really that probably isn't the moral of the story lol. 

 

No, I hardly iron anymore, and certainly not sheets. I'm lucky if I remember to take the sheets out of the dryer before 9pm and I want to go to bed. And worse, sometimes I forget to put them INTO the dryer before 9pm. :)

[AK_Mom4]

No ironed sheets here. The only time I iron these days is when I am sewing.

 

Which I only do for fun.