Ironing and Tips

Since I do not iron as much as many women do or 19th century women did for that matter, I thought I would show you what I did iron today. Not too exciting, but I am lengthening my mother's slacks. So, I had to iron a new crease in the bottom before I sew them.

This is what they looked like.

You can see the old line where the bottom crease used to be, and hopefully, you can see where I made a new crease a quarter inch above the serging. Needless to say, my ironing for the day consisted of two pant leg hems.

Here's a couple of tips on how to iron certain fabrics.

1. When ironing wool, use a thin piece of cotton fabric to lay over the wool, then spray with water to make steam. Never iron directly on wool! It will turn shiny.

2. When lengthening pants or skirts and trying to get the old crease out, make sure your iron has water in it so you can create a good amount of steam. Depending on the type of fabric (i.e. cotton, wool, or synthetic) and how long the item has been washed, ironed, and worn at that length, the crease (or line) may not completely iron out. Steam is one of the best things to try.

3. With synthetic fabric, remember not to have the heat turned up too high. The fabrics will melt!

And last but not least, here is a simple homemade starch recipe that also makes your clothes smell nice, too.

Lavender Linen Starch

Dissolve 1 tablespoon cornstarch in 1 pint cold water. Add 6 drops of lavender essential oil (or whatever your favorite scent is). Place in a spray bottle and shake before using.

Blustery Days

Today was very cold and windy here in Indianapolis. The leaves were blowing around, making the trees look bare but the ground look full and somewhat colorful. All I wanted to do was curl up in a nice warm sweater and blanket in front of a roaring fire and read a good book, perhaps with a cup of hot coffee or tea.

Feeling the way I did today, I can't imagine what pioneers went through with the wind blowing through the cracks of their log homes and the only heat source coming from a fireplace. It sounds fun to us today, but as cold as I have been, I don't think I would like living that way day in and day out. Looking out my front door, I took some pictures of what it looks like on a blustery fall day. Perhaps the pioneers had a view similar to this.

Regardless of how it looks today versus 200 years ago, it is still pretty and still cold! Time to get out the wool yarn to knit some scarves or get out fabric pieces to make a quilt. It's what was done back then and is still enjoyed today.

Off to go through fabric and yarn!