Fabric & Care
Ironing, steaming and never doing either
Creases are a fibre problem with a physics solution. Understanding what heat and moisture are actually doing makes the difference between pressing a shirt properly and glazing it permanently.
A crease is a set of fibres held in a new position by hydrogen bonds that formed while the fabric was bent, usually under pressure or while damp. Removing it means breaking those bonds — with moisture — and letting them re-form flat, with heat and pressure.
Which is why ironing a bone-dry shirt with no steam is hard work with poor results, and why the same shirt slightly damp presses in half the time.
Iron versus steamer
They do different things and neither replaces the other.
An iron applies heat, moisture and pressure. Pressure is what produces a crisp result — sharp collars, flat plackets, a knife crease in a trouser leg. Nothing else does this.
A steamer applies heat and moisture without pressure. It relaxes creases rather than flattening them, which suits knitwear, delicate fabrics, structured garments, and anything with pleats or gathers you do not want flattened. It is faster, gentler and cannot produce a crisp finish.
For shirts, an iron. For a wool jacket or a silk dress, a steamer. For a suit, a steamer for refreshing between wears and a proper press occasionally.
Ironing symbols are dots. One dot (110°C) — synthetics, silk, wool. Two dots (150°C) — wool, polyester blends. Three dots (200°C) — cotton, linen.
Start with the coolest garments and work up. The iron heats faster than it cools, so going the other way means waiting — or scorching something.
Ironing a shirt properly
The order matters, because you want to avoid re-creasing what you have already done.
- Collar. Underside first, then the top. Iron from the points inward toward the centre to avoid pushing wrinkles to the tips.
- Cuffs. Inside then outside, buttons undone, avoiding pressing over the buttons.
- Sleeves. Lay flat, align the seam, press from the shoulder down. Whether to press a crease into the sleeve is a matter of taste — traditional dress shirts have one, softer shirts do not.
- Yoke and shoulders. Over the narrow end of the board.
- Back.
- Fronts, placket last, working around the buttons rather than over them.
Iron damp, or use steam generously. A spray bottle is the cheapest and most effective ironing accessory there is.
The shine problem
The commonest ironing failure, and permanent.
Pressing dark or wool fabric directly with a hot iron flattens and partly melts the surface fibres, producing a shiny glazed patch. It cannot be undone.
Always use a pressing cloth on wool, on dark colours, and on anything with a nap. A clean cotton handkerchief or a piece of muslin will do.
Press on the reverse where possible.
Press, do not slide. On wool, lift and place the iron rather than pushing it, which distorts the weave.
Avoiding it altogether
The most efficient approach is not to create the creases.
Remove clothes from the machine immediately and shake them out. Creases set as fabric cools and dries compressed. Leaving a wash overnight is the single largest cause of the ironing pile.
Hang shirts damp on hangers and let them dry. Smooth the collar, plackets and cuffs by hand while wet. Many shirts need no ironing at all if done properly, and this takes thirty seconds per shirt.
Use a lower spin speed. High spin extraction is what wrings garments into tight creases.
Do not overload. Crowded fabric emerges creased.
Hang in the bathroom during a hot shower for light creasing, or run a hot shower for a few minutes and shut the door with the garment inside.
Choose fabrics that do not crease. Twills, wool, knits, and heavier weights all crease less than lightweight plain-weave cotton and linen.
What you cannot fix
Linen. The fibre has almost no elasticity, so it creases within an hour of wearing and there is nothing to be done. Pressing linen is possible and pointless past the first ten minutes. This is the fabric behaving as designed.
Permanent press finishes. Non-iron shirts are treated with resins that cross-link cellulose fibres so they cannot form new hydrogen bonds. They work, and the trade-offs are a stiffer hand, reduced breathability, reduced strength and shorter life. Some finishes historically released formaldehyde, which is now regulated in most markets.
Equipment worth having
A heavy iron — weight does the pressing work so you do not have to. A well-padded board with a taut cover. A spray bottle. A pressing cloth. A sleeve board if you iron shirts regularly, which is a small item that makes sleeves considerably easier.
And a steamer if you own wool tailoring, where it will do more good than an iron ever will.
