Ironing and Creasing Western Wear

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Creasing Jeans

Have you ever wondered how people achieve those crisp creases in western jeans, or the starched to perfection look in western shirts? You don’t need to take your clothes to a professional, you can achieve the same results at home with your iron and ironing board.

Set up the ironing board. Set your iron to the “cotton” setting, and allow to heat. I recommend you use Faultless Spray Starch in the aerosol can. Turn the jeans upside down and grasp by the legs. You will want to match up the inside seams, by bringing them together at the cuff. Now line up the outside seams the same way, by bringing them all together at the cuff. Now shake and slap the jeans against your legs to flatten them out. Lay across your ironing board. The next step is a little tricky. Take the top leg and fold back at the knee - toward the seat of the jeans, then fold again - so that you have the straddle of the jeans open, with the bottom leg fully exposed. Check your seam alignment again, make adjustments if necessary. Spray the cuff of the jeans with starch and begin to iron in an upward motion, with the side of the iron against the seam of the jeans. Iron one side of the seam all the way to the straddle - then iron the other side of the seam. You always want to work upward toward the straddle. As you near the top of the jeans, you will notice your crease is ending right at the bottom of the back pocket, and angling along the zipper on the front. Follow the crease line all the way to the top of the jeans - this will smooth and starch the seat area. Now unfold the other leg onto the top of the leg you just creased. Turn the jeans over on your ironing board. Fold the ironed leg as you did the un-ironed leg - and repeat the process.

Starching and Pressing Shirts

There is a true art to a well pressed shirt! And part of the trick to this is a mixture of starch and steam. I recommend you use Faultless Spray Starch in the aerosol can, along with a wet wash cloth. The steam setting on most irons will cause the spray starch to gum up. Set your iron to “cotton”, and allow to heat. Take the shirt by the yolk (or shoulders) in your hands and match up the front and back panels. The back is a solid yolk piece and the front is two pieces. Lay the shirt back side down on your ironing board, spray one yolk side with starch and cover with a damp wash cloth - press until there is no steam coming from the wash cloth. Wet and wring your cloth again, and repeat this on the other yolk half. Now turn the shirt over and press the back yolk in the same manner. Now lay the collar flat on your ironing board and press using the starch and wash cloth method. Now work the front panels and back panel across your ironing board using the same method - wetting your cloth as needed. Always make sure you protect decorative snaps and buttons with your cloth as you run the iron across them! The sleeves are last. Lay them as flatly as possible on your ironing board - using their inside seam as your guide. Press as you have before. Open the cuff, lay flat - and press using your cloth as you did before.

This may take some practice, but once you get the hang of it, you can produce professional results right at home! Some things to remember are:

Keep the iron moving to avoid scorching fabric
Always wring the water out of your cloth well
If ironing a white shirt, check the bottom of your iron for dust or dirt by spritzing it with water and running it across a towel

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