Good day fellow aspiring tailors! This post is a very short tip that I wish to issue to all of you who are getting started and don't quite yet have the confidence or finances to acquire a professional gravity fed or boiler steam iron. One of the core advantages of these types of iron systems is that they expel superheated steam, known as 'dry' steam as it takes substantially longer to condense due to the energy within it. I work on two vintage steamships, and there the advantage of having dry steam is twofold - the increased temperatures allow us to have a lot more pressure (power) for the engines (expansion or turbine) and secondly, the steam doesn't condense into water in the inlet pipes which would create rust and a buildup of water that needs to be drained. In tailoring, however, superheated steam has similar but different advantages. Firstly, the increased pressure associated with higher temperatures of steam allows for a much greater volume of moisture to pass through into your cloth in question resulting in more effective and efficient pressing. Secondly, the added heat allows your cloth to remain malleable for longer and easier to work with. This all sounds wonderful - however, an issue arrives when a mere hobbyist looks at the prices of such professional systems. My solution was arrived through analogy. Just as a boiler heats up water beyond boiler point, so too can a kettle. And, just as a pipe can transfer this water directly into the iron where it is then heated further, so too can you pouring it into your iron. So, what one does is first fill your kettle with distilled water (or, if you're like me and lucky enough to live in a place like Scotland where minerals don't show up when boiling water, you may use convensional water). Then, enable your kettle until it boils, at this stage when it automatically turns off you should hold down the switch to have it over-boil for around 30 seconds. At this stage, pour it into your iron (which should be switched on and preheated). Finally, press! An important postscriptum is that superheated steam is very dangerous. Steam burns can be deadly and the increased pressures of this in your kettle may cause a rupture if there is no outlet. As tempting as it may be to close up your kettle's outlet to achieve greater pressures and 'dryer' steam, do not close your outlet under any circumstances. Be wary and you shall have a lot of success with this method. I wish you all nothing short of a wonderfully productive day and commend each of you for following Reza's marvellous course.
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I must admit that I'm that idiot who tried to take a shirt wrinkle off by pumping steam through it with an industrial steam iron from a distance of roughly 5 inches.
It was early in the morning an we we're expecting a client. I noticed a wrinkle on my left chest area and thought to be clever. The steam literally branded the triangular hole arangement on my chest and I still have it there as a souvenier. That was a terrible day.
Fortunately It was a wrinkle on my chest and not my trouser fly.
Reza
International School of Tailoring
Hey Carl. That was an interesting solution to the problem though, speaking solely for myself, pouring boiling water into the tiny fill-hole in my domestic iron sounds like an injury in the making. 🫣🤪 I appreciate the disclaimer. I'm actually interested in hearing more about working on a steamship but I'm a writer, so I would be. 😁
As it happens, I looked into upgrading my standard home iron to something more powerful and bought a really nice steam iron. It's a Rowenta Perfect Steam Pro Steam Generator and shoots a plume of steam about nine inches around and nearly two feet out! The instructions (yes I read the whole thing) says not to spray other people OR iron a garment while the person is wearing it, and I just laughed. They wouldn't say it if someone hadn't tried it, and that must have been a bad day for whom ever removed the wrinkles from the seat of their pants. Anyway...
It was around $200 USD, which was a little more than I wanted to spend, but it damn sure works. I haven't steamed myself yet, but I just got it. 🤞🤪