Category: Daily Living
You'd think with a handle like ablindgibsongirl I'd know the fine art of ironing shirts and napkins etc in just the right way. How should I teach myself this skill. It's a bit intimidating even for me. At least when your cooking over a campfire you've got on thick gloves. I think I should know this if I ever hope to have the wardrobe of a real gibson girl. Thanks for any help on this one. Tiffany
Hi, I was shown how to do that in college. But I haven't done so since.
If I as a blind man can iron, then there is no reason why you as a blind girl can not. Noone ever taught me, I don't really know what temperature should be used on what materials, and just go by trial and error. Touching wood, to this date, having lived alone for 15 years, I've never burnt any of my clothes, only the carpet once when I knocked the iron off the board.
Hi there. Yes, a blind person can iron. But rather than teach yourself, I would find someone you know and trust to teach you. If you iron certain fabrics, or iron them at the wrong temperatures, you can really mess them up. I was taught how to iron a few years ago by a blind instructor when I was at the CCB.
That's the plan, to find a blind person who knows how to iron. This isn't something I'd just try to do myself. I've heard too many stories of people, sighted ones, being very badly burned. I'm not scared just wary of what could go wrong. I don't fool with things I don't understand or can't control, I have respect for the tools I use. James Mase, taught me how to make friends with something your using, learn what it does, learn how it operates, and use it well. I had a patient instructor who taught me to use some dangerous tools, a la tablesaw. I had fun in shop but was very aware of what happens when you don't pay attension. We never had a hospital accident when I was at lcb. I'd do the whole thing over again if I could. Speaking of which Marilyn would probably have more luck teaching me to iron. Did anyone else here attend Lcb? The hunt for nice blind lady begins. Thanks guys. Tiffany
Yeah, trial and error's the best way. In fact, when I'd just got ironing down to a fine art, I burnt my wrist so badly it bled a lot and I had dressings on all the following week once the school nurse had seen it lol. Knocked my confidence a fair bit afterwards but I'm getting over that now. Its just something we all have to do at some point, lol. Jen.
Okay, here's an abreviated version of an ironing tip sheet.
1. for shirts, like button-downs, place them flat on the ironing board buttons up. Then, run your iron over the bottom half of each side. Next, place your shirt with the backside facing you but place it on the board so that the buttons are under the board. Then iron the back. Next, line up the seams of the sleeves and iron them front and back. next, iron the shoulders by either lying the shirt flat, or placing a sleeve over the pointed end of the ironing board. For pants, line up the creases by using the bottom of the pant leg. you want the legs to be creased so that the creases fall on the front and back of your legs. This makes the pants more crisp-looking and it's a slimming look. Sorry, I'm at work, so if I left anything out, my apologies. It's a good idea to use a steam iron or to have a spray bottle of water handy so you can mist your clothing to help remove any stubborn wrinkles. HTH.
Thanks. I've got a couple old calicos that I can sacrifice if the iron gets too hot. The calicos being old work dresses. It's amazing what abuse a good cotton can put up with. Bruce found the ironing board that fixes to the wall now we know what those brackets are for on the laundryroom wall. Tiffany
guess its easier for us blokes. main thing is to go slow, and I also tend to rap the electric flex round my rist so I don't iron through it. sounds daft but better safe than sorry!
I think ironing is a simple task, I agree with the previous poster, its helpful to go slower. Try putting the iron in medium heat, so It wouldn't be too hot when your just starting out. Your clothes doesn't need too much irnoning. Just the right amount would make all the the edges look proper. If you just got your clothes from the dryer, its best to immediately fold it, so it won't look crumpled when it dries. As far as ironing goes, you don't have to iron your clothes everyday, just do it for special occassions, and another thing, not all types of clothes can be ironed.
I would also reccomend turning your clothes inside out while ironing so that you don't scorch the fabric on the outside. Hope this helps.
Blessings,
Angela