Jeanne S

This Is why I pre-wash and steam iron my fabric before cutting. I have had at least two instances of unwashed fabric cut in 10" squares shrink to 9 3/4" after pressing with a steam iron.

tessagin

I prewash all my fabric and before it's completely dry, remove it then iron.

ube quilting

Does any one remember when we use to dampen cloths and put them in the fridge overnight in a plastic bag? I don't know why. My guess would be that it releases and softens wrinkles so they press better.

I like to press almost dry fabric too.

quiltingshorttimer

My Mom had a 7-Up bottle that she had a sprinkler stopper for and would sprinkle clothes and then put into a large bag and into the refrig (keep in mind most of us had refrigs that had no space and often the "freezer" was stuck in there and hardly separate!) and she always told me it was too keep the dampened clothes fresh and not allow mildew. Think it was also left overnight so that the dampness would spread and thus the sprinkling did not have to saturate the clothes so much.

I've always been a steamer with mixed results--but since my sewing room iron is no longer steaming (and haven't bothered to bring the steam iron up from long arm in basement) I've switched to using a spray bottle.

jmoore

I used to use steam all the time but now I use a dry iron and keep a spray bottle of water handy for stubborn wrinkles. Especially since I forget to empty the water from time to time and run my iron through a cleaning process and now have a leaky Rowenta...

sinceresissy

I wash my material, dry it and steam iron it but after that I don't steam I mash those seams with my iron. It can be fun with the right mental attitude.

maviskw

When I have a lot of HSTs that need to be pressed, I first press them on my knee with my fingers. A light finger pressing holds the seam in the right place, then place the next one on top. When the pile gets so high it threatens to fall over, start a new stack. I can do this on the sofa while watching Wheel of Fortune!
Then I go to the iron and the whole stack gets ironed in record time with no burnt fingers. And because the iron is on for a much shorter time, that's saving money too.

Linda1

I never put water in my iron. I use a spray bottle if I need to dampen the fabric.

quilterpurpledog

If cotton threads are going to shrink, they will do it the first time water or steam are applied. So, the question is when do you want this shrinkage to happen, before you cut, when you press the various sections, or, when you wash the quilt. Use care when you press to minimize distortion cause by pulling fabric out of grain. Fabric is treated with various finishing products to minimize hard set wrinkles like we used to have in our clothing. That was the reason we sprinkled items to iron and let them set for a while before ironing. I don't pre-wash unless I have concern about color retention. I do not like to use starch (or other conditioners) because it does not allow the fabric to behave as it naturally will. I use care in cutting and handling the fabric throughout the process and always achieve good results. You cannot make fabric permanently behave in an artificially induced process. It will always revert back to its natural state or it will cause stress related deterioration.

klswift

The difference is in pressing and ironing. Think of the different way you iron a man's wrinkled work shirt and one of your delicate blouses.