Every woman wants her loved one to always be neat and well-groomed. A neat and clean man in a perfectly ironed shirt is pleasant to look at. But ironing men's shirts is a real challenge for many.
This must be done with high quality, because a shirt is a man’s face and it doesn’t need wrinkles. Ironing a men's shirt is not difficult, you just need to know a certain sequence, principles and some rules, which we will now share with you.
Before turning on the iron
You need to dry a clean, washed shirt flattened, hanging it on a trempel (hanger). There is no need to wait for complete drying; ironing a slightly damp product is much easier and faster. If the fabric is still dry, evenly moisten it with a home spray bottle about an hour before ironing. Or wrap your shirt in a damp towel for a few minutes.
However, this does not apply to silk shirts. They should be ironed exclusively dry through a damp cotton cloth. Spraying with water or ironing through cheesecloth may cause stains.
Do not rush to turn on the iron until you have examined the label on the shirt. The composition of the fabric is indicated there, as well as recommendations from the manufacturer regarding the ironing process. It takes very little time, but it saves you from the possibility of ruining the thing.
A high-quality iron plus a good ironing board will make the process more pleasant and comfortable. You only need to fill the iron with distilled water, but not tap water.Otherwise, salt deposits may form in the tank and stains on things during ironing cannot be avoided. In addition, do not forget to periodically clean the soleplate of the iron.
Select the ironing mode according to the type of fabric
To avoid accidentally burning your dear man’s favorite shirt, carefully set the iron setting to the appropriate type of fabric. Memorize or hang in a visible place a cheat sheet of material compliance with ironing modes:
- 100% cotton - 150 degrees, wet steam, strong iron pressure.
- Crinkled cotton - 110 degrees, no steam.
- Cotton + polyester - 110 degrees, a little steam.
- Linen - 210-230 degrees, a lot of wet steam, intense pressure.
- Cotton + linen - 180-200 degrees, abundant steam, strong pressure.
- Viscose - 120 degrees, no steam.
Step-by-step plan for ironing shirts
Having washed the shirt, prepared everything you need and studied the label, you can finally begin the great action in the following order:
- Collar.
You should always start from the gate. First, iron the wrong side of it, moving the iron from the corners to the middle. Then iron the front side in the same way. If you iron from the middle, then ugly folds will appear in the corners, which should not be there at all. To prevent the collar from losing its natural correct appearance, do not smooth it by bending it along the stand.
Many people mistakenly finish ironing a shirt with the collar. This is wrong, because ironing the collar will again wrinkle the sleeves and back.
- Cuffs.
For long sleeves, start ironing from the cuffs. Do this according to the same principle as ironing a collar: from the inside, then from the front side.You need to iron double cuffs like this: unscrew them completely, iron them on both sides without folds, fold them and iron them again, ironing them evenly along the fold.
- Sleeves.
Some ironing boards come with a special board for ironing sleeves. But even without one, the art of ironing a shirt can be mastered.
Carefully fold the sleeve in half so that the seam is in the middle. Press each sleeve on both sides from seam to edge. Then lift and unfold it so that the edge is centered and iron again.
The arrows on the sleeves should not be ironed. This is considered bad manners, but is only permissible if there is absolutely no time for ironing, the shirt is needed urgently and the man definitely will not take off his jacket.
- Shelves.
Start with the front where the buttons are sewn. In men's shirts it is always on the right. Lay the shirt on the narrow part of your ironing board and move the iron from top to bottom. Go around buttons and don't crease pockets. Pay special attention to the spaces between the buttons: stretch the fabric slightly and run the tip of the iron over it. Iron the second shelf, which has hinges, in the same way. It’s even easier to do this, because there are no buttons on it.
- Back.
The back is ironed from right to left from the front or back side, depending on the material. Iron the right half of the back from bottom to top, the yoke, and then the left half. Finish ironing by moving the iron along the left seam from top to bottom.
Ironing nuances
- Shirts made from viscose fibers should be ironed with extreme caution, as they are very sensitive to high temperatures.
- A woolen shirt should be ironed only from the inside out and should be sufficiently damp.In this way, you can even restore the original size of the shirt if it has shrunk during washing.
- Iron shirts with a sheen, embroidery or relief pattern only from the inside out, so that the sheen does not fade and the embroidery or pattern looks more voluminous.
- Dark shirts must also be ironed from the inside out to avoid the appearance of a shiny sheen.
- Do not hold the iron in the same place for too long and do not press it too hard against the surface.
- A special extension or a regular rolled-up towel tucked into the sleeve will help significantly facilitate the process of ironing sleeves.
How to quickly and effectively iron a shirt without an iron
Sometimes in an emergency situation without an iron, such knowledge may come in handy. For example, on a trip or in the event of a sudden power outage, when your husband urgently needs to run to a meeting. Your loved one will surely be pleasantly surprised if you skillfully smooth out wrinkles on his shirt without an iron.
- Method #1 . If the shirt is wrinkled in one place or all over, but not very badly, then it is best to do the following. Lay the wrinkled shirt on a flat surface and spray it with water. Gently pull the fabric in all directions to straighten it. Wait until it dries.
- Method #2 . A very wrinkled shirt can be quickly smoothed out using this method. Hang the shirt on a hanger and go to the bathroom with it. Close the door tightly, open the hot water tap as much as possible. After some time, under the influence of steam and its own weight, the shirt will begin to straighten out. Then put it on your beloved husband and walk over it with wet hands.That's it, the shirt is ironed, and the man is slightly confused, but happy and immensely grateful to you.
Every bachelor and every housewife must know how to properly iron men's shirts. Perhaps the man will not be able to do it perfectly the first time, but experience will come with time.
