Hi Ask Anna readers, it’s Kim! I’m back this month to share with you a skill I honed during college. While attending school, I got a part time job as a presser at a dry cleaners and believe it or not – I loved it! It was hard work, but really satisfying. There’s just something about turning a disheveled piece of clothing into a nice, crisp garment. I learned how to iron just about everything while there and today I’m going to show you how to press a men’s dress shirt. Follow this tutorial and with a little practice, the results will have your husband convinced it came straight from the cleaners! Whether it’s a silk blouse or a cotton dress shirt that you’re ironing, the process is the same. First you press the collar, then the shoulders, followed by the sleeves and then the body. So: collar, shoulder, shoulder, sleeve, sleeve, body.
Before we begin, a word about irons-get one that has a good steam setting. Steam is a presser’s best friend, working wonders on all those little wrinkles. Alrighty. Heat up your iron according to the directions on the tag of the shirt you are working with and let’s get to it! If you’re right handed, position your ironing board so that narrow end is to your left. Do opposite if you’re a lefty.
|1| collar
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| Lay the collar flat on your ironing board. |
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| Use one hand to pull the collar taut, while ironing with the other. Use lots of steam! |
|2| shoulders
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| Slip a shoulder onto the end of the ironing board and using your fingers to pull seams tight, iron the surface. |
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| Once done, switch to the other shoulder and do the same. |
|3| sleeves
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| Lay the sleeve, button side up on the ironing board. Make sure seams are flat and lined up, begin ironing from the top of the sleeve down to the cuffs. |
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| When you get down to the buttons, pull the cuff with one hand and iron both sides of the button area. |
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| Lift up and use your steam on the middle so as not to make button imprints. |
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| Lay the cuff on the end of the board and press. Repeat previous steps for other sleeve. |
|4| body
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| Lay body of shirt, with button hole side on board and press your way around. Use one hand to tug shirt tight while ironing with the other. Use lots of steam! |
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| When you get to the buttons, use one hand to pull shirt tight, while ironing in between each button. And you are done! |
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| Place on a hanger with hook facing left and hang up. |
And that is how they do it at the dry cleaners! Remember to use lots of steam and always employ the fingers of your free hand to pull at seams, making areas tight as you iron.
What about starch? My husband wants his clothes to practically stand on their own but I just can’t do it.
Hi Anna! Thank you for sharing your expertise. I love the look of pressed clothes. I am always disappointed with my results despite the time and effort invested. I just bought a new iron that is a “steam dream” and have noticed significantly better outcomes. I have not produced the perfectly pressed look I get from the cleaners but am anxious to apply your techniques.
Thanks again.
What about spray starch?
I don’t know, I’ve never used spray starch so I’m not familiar with it, sorry.