But what about bed linen? I don’t have frilly pillow cases but I do love slipping into a bed with nicely ironed linen. Listening to podcasts and ironing is bliss now I’m retired and have time.
I come from a family of assiduous ironers. My Mum even ironed tea towels and socks - so that they lay neatly in the drawer. I have passed this down to my son. Since cubs and the ironing badge he has been a demon ironer andnow he is living here at home with us again whilst saving for a house, he does all the ironing and I caught him pressing a towel the other day to make it look nice. What about goffering irons and irons for ruffs and other specialised irons that have disappeared altogether from usage but can still be found. I think they would make lovely marks and are, of course, what Victorians used for the edges of frilled pillowcases…….
I have an ‘egg iron’ which you heat on a hot plate.. I use it for flowers making. I’ve also recently acquired some vintage flower irons which I’m currently experimenting with
Canadian kitchens in houses built in the 30s-50s had a built-in ironing board: a tall thin cupboard 4" deep between the studs with a drop down ironing board and sometimes a separate sleeve board that also could drop down above it. When I think of the 1950s kitchen of my mother, radio, kettle, kitchen table, ironing board, bread board that slid in under the counter, laundry sprinklers (a pop bottle with a shaker head for dampening before ironing), plus the correct order in which to iron a shirt: cuffs, sleeves, collar, shoulders fronts then back -- it all is so close and tidy. A world I really miss. Also contemporary irons don't seem to get as hot as old ones -health & safety probably, but I never get a good hot sizzle anymore. I love ironing. And your clothes last longer and stay cleaner.
As a dressmaker I constantly iron my work in progress, but hardly ever iron any of my own, or my family’s clothes. I have two sleeve boards & what I call ‘the sausage’ which is like a tailors ham but a sausage shape for pressing sleeves, which I prefer to use. The only items that give me the slightest satisfaction to iron domestically are pillow cases and table napkins. Both of which I rarely iron either.
On a different note: Margaret Thatcher appears to have two kettles, electric & stove top.
Yes to the sleeve board! Indispensable when dressmaking. When my first 'Needlework' teacher had us ironing paper patterns I thought she was mad. I had been making my own clothes for years by age 11. Now of course I iron them every time, she was right, it makes it so much easier as they lie flat without all those weights, rice bags and weird things they use on Sewing Bee.
As for accidents while on 'domestic duty' I have ended up in hospital after tipping a casserole over both feet, blisters the size of ....well my feet, I have burnt my hands while pressing the water container back onto an iron by clenching the hotplate and scalded my tummy by leaning over the ironing board and lying on the iron. We do suffer for our art don't we?
Oh yes! Ironing for sewing purposes is my jam. I have a sewing room, and my ironing board is almost always up unless I have to have both leaves out on my gate leg tall table in order to cut out fabric. I too iron my patterns. In addition to the sleeve board, ham, and clapper, I have a sleeve roll, and a seam roller. You might want these tools yourself. And because I have my iron and ironing board at the ready, I no longer dread ironing a dress or shirt I want to wear.
I do like the notion of creating order from chaos (in a v small way) that ironing offers, plus it’s one of the few household chores quiet enough to still enjoy the radio,(even - gasp!- TV), & no rubber gloves required. Time is needed, however, of which there is never enough…
Another fun one to ponder, Jane! When my five year old step daughter went to her kindergarten placement test many years ago she was shown a picture of an ironing board and asked to identify it….”That’s easy! Mum has her violets on it!” She was marked down even though she was correct! The antique ironing board was set in front of my three long kitchen windows and filled with my African Violets…. It was only when she became a persnickety teenager that she pressed the board back into what she considered it’s proper service….
During Covid, and probably rather bored, my husband turned our defunct ironing board into an excellent extra worktable for me by screwing a piece of MDF onto the frame - perfect and invaluable in my very small studio - folds up when the studio is used to sleep grandchildren in !
My mother had a gas iron (my father was a gas fitter). It connected to a gas pipe and little blue flames heated the sole plate as it stood on its enamel trivet. When lifted, a safety device cut the gas supply. It was emeraldgreen and shiny black. There are some for sale on Ebay, but I suspect they are for decorative purposes. I was recently given a table iron - wonderful for sheet and fabric, but I haven't mastered shirts!
You are a young person apart from the dressmaking. They don't iron or own irons or boards - like newspapers and radios these are things of antiquity to a Gen Z
As soon as I realised what the theme was I looked forward to a reference to Lara ironing in Dr Zhivago - but it never came. Julie Christie ravishingly beautiful (though really very short) but Omar Sharif only ever managing to look at her in that rather dopey, sleepy, hangdog way he always had. Not much heat there.
Haha! Another great article, thank you, Jane. I love how you think up these themes. So I do own a sleeve ironing board but who knew about silicone finger tip protectors?! Great for those frills! (Though I only ever iron when dress and curtain making, and not the frilly kind.)
But what about bed linen? I don’t have frilly pillow cases but I do love slipping into a bed with nicely ironed linen. Listening to podcasts and ironing is bliss now I’m retired and have time.
I come from a family of assiduous ironers. My Mum even ironed tea towels and socks - so that they lay neatly in the drawer. I have passed this down to my son. Since cubs and the ironing badge he has been a demon ironer andnow he is living here at home with us again whilst saving for a house, he does all the ironing and I caught him pressing a towel the other day to make it look nice. What about goffering irons and irons for ruffs and other specialised irons that have disappeared altogether from usage but can still be found. I think they would make lovely marks and are, of course, what Victorians used for the edges of frilled pillowcases…….
Ironing teatowels is a good move as it helps to kill off any bacteria.
I have an ‘egg iron’ which you heat on a hot plate.. I use it for flowers making. I’ve also recently acquired some vintage flower irons which I’m currently experimenting with
Canadian kitchens in houses built in the 30s-50s had a built-in ironing board: a tall thin cupboard 4" deep between the studs with a drop down ironing board and sometimes a separate sleeve board that also could drop down above it. When I think of the 1950s kitchen of my mother, radio, kettle, kitchen table, ironing board, bread board that slid in under the counter, laundry sprinklers (a pop bottle with a shaker head for dampening before ironing), plus the correct order in which to iron a shirt: cuffs, sleeves, collar, shoulders fronts then back -- it all is so close and tidy. A world I really miss. Also contemporary irons don't seem to get as hot as old ones -health & safety probably, but I never get a good hot sizzle anymore. I love ironing. And your clothes last longer and stay cleaner.
As a dressmaker I constantly iron my work in progress, but hardly ever iron any of my own, or my family’s clothes. I have two sleeve boards & what I call ‘the sausage’ which is like a tailors ham but a sausage shape for pressing sleeves, which I prefer to use. The only items that give me the slightest satisfaction to iron domestically are pillow cases and table napkins. Both of which I rarely iron either.
On a different note: Margaret Thatcher appears to have two kettles, electric & stove top.
Her PR team probably bought another kettle to ensure they made a point about her ‘ordinary woman’ credentials.
Re: pillowcases and table napkins - I agree. Also, I quite like to iron tea towels. No idea why.
Ironing ironing, no. Fabric prep for dyeing, quilt making and dressmaking, a resounding yes!!
I’m a bit shocked at the number of commenters who don’t iron….I do a good couple of hours ironing every week & am by no means a domestic goddess….
Yes to the sleeve board! Indispensable when dressmaking. When my first 'Needlework' teacher had us ironing paper patterns I thought she was mad. I had been making my own clothes for years by age 11. Now of course I iron them every time, she was right, it makes it so much easier as they lie flat without all those weights, rice bags and weird things they use on Sewing Bee.
As for accidents while on 'domestic duty' I have ended up in hospital after tipping a casserole over both feet, blisters the size of ....well my feet, I have burnt my hands while pressing the water container back onto an iron by clenching the hotplate and scalded my tummy by leaning over the ironing board and lying on the iron. We do suffer for our art don't we?
Totally agree on the sleeve board and ironing patterns
Oh yes! Ironing for sewing purposes is my jam. I have a sewing room, and my ironing board is almost always up unless I have to have both leaves out on my gate leg tall table in order to cut out fabric. I too iron my patterns. In addition to the sleeve board, ham, and clapper, I have a sleeve roll, and a seam roller. You might want these tools yourself. And because I have my iron and ironing board at the ready, I no longer dread ironing a dress or shirt I want to wear.
I was just recommended to use a ‘facial roller’ to press seams!
I do like the notion of creating order from chaos (in a v small way) that ironing offers, plus it’s one of the few household chores quiet enough to still enjoy the radio,(even - gasp!- TV), & no rubber gloves required. Time is needed, however, of which there is never enough…
Another fun one to ponder, Jane! When my five year old step daughter went to her kindergarten placement test many years ago she was shown a picture of an ironing board and asked to identify it….”That’s easy! Mum has her violets on it!” She was marked down even though she was correct! The antique ironing board was set in front of my three long kitchen windows and filled with my African Violets…. It was only when she became a persnickety teenager that she pressed the board back into what she considered it’s proper service….
During Covid, and probably rather bored, my husband turned our defunct ironing board into an excellent extra worktable for me by screwing a piece of MDF onto the frame - perfect and invaluable in my very small studio - folds up when the studio is used to sleep grandchildren in !
I think if I could afford a Fortuny gown I'd definitely get someone in to do my ironing.
My mother had a gas iron (my father was a gas fitter). It connected to a gas pipe and little blue flames heated the sole plate as it stood on its enamel trivet. When lifted, a safety device cut the gas supply. It was emeraldgreen and shiny black. There are some for sale on Ebay, but I suspect they are for decorative purposes. I was recently given a table iron - wonderful for sheet and fabric, but I haven't mastered shirts!
You are a young person apart from the dressmaking. They don't iron or own irons or boards - like newspapers and radios these are things of antiquity to a Gen Z
You missed a bit -
As soon as I realised what the theme was I looked forward to a reference to Lara ironing in Dr Zhivago - but it never came. Julie Christie ravishingly beautiful (though really very short) but Omar Sharif only ever managing to look at her in that rather dopey, sleepy, hangdog way he always had. Not much heat there.
Haha! Another great article, thank you, Jane. I love how you think up these themes. So I do own a sleeve ironing board but who knew about silicone finger tip protectors?! Great for those frills! (Though I only ever iron when dress and curtain making, and not the frilly kind.)
Oh yes! The finger tip protectors!