Steam distorts the fabric?
#13
I like to press almost dry fabric too.
#14
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: kansas
Posts: 6,407
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.
#15
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...
#17
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Join Date: May 2012
Location: Central Wisconsin
Posts: 4,391
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.
#19
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Heart of Colorado's majestic mountains!
Posts: 6,026
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.
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