Old fashioned?

[momof2birds]

Yesterday I was ironing a blouse, getting ready for a trip next week. Mind you, I don't do a lot of ironing but when it's necessary I can do it. My mother taught me well. I got to thinking...do any young people (20's and younger) know how to iron or have ever done it? Do mothers still teach their childrren or does nobody iron in this day and age? Am I 'over the hill' for ironing/thinking about this? There's no purpose to this musing other than to see what others think.

[strawhouse]

Hahahah I know how you feel! I brought out my iron a few weeks ago to iron a dress I had just made. I iron so often that my 2 year old had never even seen an iron before. Most of my friends don't even own an iron. (We're 25 - 35) I certainly felt "old fashioned" when I found that out. Mind you, most people my age can't even cook if it's not out of a can or box. Never mind iron! Oh, the look of awe on my friends faces when I tell them I just put up pickles, or baked a pie. Or sewed. Or knitted. I'm so happy my Mom and Grandma taught me so much! I plan on teaching my kids for sure. (both the boys and the girls. my hubby does it all too.)

[peri_simmons]

Mine learned in basic training. They both wondered why I didn't teach them at home. I made them remember that I tried but it took some sgt, yelling at them to pay attention. LOL

[Pink_Carnation]

Well both my kids are under 20 and they know how to iron....one chooses not to though.

[RedTartan]

I have an iron, but I only use it for sewing. I know how though! My grandmother taught me. I avoid buying clothes that need ironing. Just about everything is made wrinkle resistant now.

But I'm 34, so I don't likely qualify as a young person anymore

[Beowulf]

I learned to iron in the army.

I tend to buy things that do not need ironing, but you can't beat cotton or linen in the TX heat, so I have plenty of clothes that need ironing too.

Then again, I'm not young any more either

[FarmboyBill]

I ironed handkerchiefs, and underwear, and a grade school, (Young grade school) kid. I also washed handkerchiefs on the scrub board, as mom thought they too delicate to go in with the rest of the clothes. I know what you mean tho. How meny men/boys know how to split out fence posts, run a 2 man saw smoothly, use an ax or adz without cutting off a foot, Plow, forge, Dig a post hole3 with a set of digggers and make a smooth round hole. And a hundred other crafts that have gone by the wayside in the last 50/75 years.

But then, There were firemen that could start a fire in a steam engine and have it ready to work in a hr. Women on a threshing crew who made every meal for months for a threshing crew, Guys who could flick off a horse fly while rideing down the road in their buggy with a buggy whip, and never touch the horse. Men who could make oxen do whatever they wanted without a line on them. Men who wouldnt think twice about haveing to pull a flat tire on the road, patch it, several times before arriveing at their destination. People who made trips in buggies and early autos without heaters, side curtins widhshields in the dead of winter. What im getting at here, is, that therte are crafts, that have been lost for 50/75yrs, that we, mostly, never had a chance to learn, and at that time, there were people who lamented the loss of those crafts also.

[FarmboyBill]

Carpenters, who never owned a power electric tool, Smithies who never knew what an arc was.

[Callieslamb]

and engineers don't know what a slide rule is these days!

I think fabrics are a bit different now that back in my mom's day. She did teach me to iron. I rarely do. If something gets wrinkled, there are easier ways of getting rid of them. My method of choice is to put them back in the dryer with a wet cloth for a few minutes. If it ever gets to the point that I can't use my dryer, I probably won't care about a few wrinkles.

[MO_cows]

Even if something isn't crinkled up and "needs" ironing, button up shirts sure look nicer when they are freshly pressed, on men or women.

I'm guilty of buying clothes that don't "need" ironing, but when I am out and see someone wearing a nicely pressed shirt, it makes me wish I had ironed mine!

As a kid, one of my chores was to iron my dad's handkerchiefs AND the sheets and pillowcases. I wasn't proficient enough at the time to iron his shirts, I guess. Those pressed sheets sure felt nice to slide into that first night.

[Farmerwilly2]

The only shirt I'd iron would be a dress shirt (polo shirts for work don't need it), and only sizing for that---hold the starch. I did take good notes as a child from mom and this summer when at Lehmans' me and the Mrs. bought the last 4 set of pants stretchers they had in stock, so now even my dockeresque pants have a nice crease without heating up the iron.

[gina kay]

I used to throw the wrinkled item back into the dryer with a wet washcloth. Then I married my dh and he likes to iron and hates wrinkles. Since we've moved here I don't use a dryer (love hanging clothes out). Have had a dryer for 6 yrs but never connected it up.

[momof2birds]

Originally Posted by MO_cows

Even if something isn't crinkled up and "needs" ironing, button up shirts sure look nicer when they are freshly pressed, on men or women.

I'm guilty of buying clothes that don't "need" ironing, but when I am out and see someone wearing a nicely pressed shirt, it makes me wish I had ironed mine!

As a kid, one of my chores was to iron my dad's handkerchiefs AND the sheets and pillowcases. I wasn't proficient enough at the time to iron his shirts, I guess. Those pressed sheets sure felt nice to slide into that first night.

that's how my mom started me, with the sheets, pillowcases, hankerchiefs. Later on she bought a mangle (does anyone know what that is?) and I did use it but have still preferred a good old iron with steam.

[hippygirl]

Like others, I learned to iron by ironing hankerchiefs (never ironed a pillow case, though).

When I worked, I ironed my clothes the night before (DH's employer uses a uniform service). I now only iron if it's needed (and when I sew, of course).

If's funny now that I think about it...when I'd buy clothes for work, I always made SURE it would be easy to iron...if it had a ruffle or too much gathering, I avoided it like the plague! I also never bought anything made from linen...I simply don't "wear it well" (gets far too wrinkled far too quickly and looks terrible to me).

[momof2birds]

Originally Posted by FarmBoyBill

I ironed handkerchiefs, and underwear, and a grade school, (Young grade school) kid. I also washed handkerchiefs on the scrub board, as mom thought they too delicate to go in with the rest of the clothes. I know what you mean tho. How meny men/boys know how to split out fence posts, run a 2 man saw smoothly, use an ax or adz without cutting off a foot, Plow, forge, Dig a post hole3 with a set of digggers and make a smooth round hole. And a hundred other crafts that have gone by the wayside in the last 50/75 years.

But then, There were firemen that could start a fire in a steam engine and have it ready to work in a hr. Women on a threshing crew who made every meal for months for a threshing crew, Guys who could flick off a horse fly while rideing down the road in their buggy with a buggy whip, and never touch the horse. Men who could make oxen do whatever they wanted without a line on them. Men who wouldnt think twice about haveing to pull a flat tire on the road, patch it, several times before arriveing at their destination. People who made trips in buggies and early autos without heaters, side curtins widhshields in the dead of winter. What im getting at here, is, that therte are crafts, that have been lost for 50/75yrs, that we, mostly, never had a chance to learn, and at that time, there were people who lamented the loss of those crafts also.

Yeah, you make a good point there. For awhile now I've had the distinct feeling that this country would be better off if everything coillapsed and we were forced to live more simply.

[WhiteWillow]

Not sure if I qualify as young. I am 27. My Mom did not teach me how to iron. I wish that she had even though I think I've pretty much figured it out on my own. I like some of my shirts to be crisp so I use starch sometimes. I'm sure that I'm doing it correctly but it still would have been helpful to have been taught.

[happy@home]

My kids (4) are all 20 and under and know how to iron. An iron is the first thing my ds bought when he moved out. They don't need to iron as much as we used to but they do it when they need to.

[RedTartan]

Originally Posted by Farmerwilly2

The only shirt I'd iron would be a dress shirt (polo shirts for work don't need it), and only sizing for that---hold the starch. I did take good notes as a child from mom and this summer when at Lehmans' me and the Mrs. bought the last 4 set of pants stretchers they had in stock, so now even my dockeresque pants have a nice crease without heating up the iron.

Uhm... Were you there at the end of May? If so, I was standing right next to you when some of the ladies there were teasing you about buying all the pants stretchers

[SueMc]

Ha! Boy does this bring back old, bad memories. When I was a kid I had to iron everything, sheets, dad's underwear, everything except towels (mom would have made us do those too if needed!) We would sprinkle everything with water from a bottle with a special sprinkler cap on top and roll up the item to relax before ironing.
I'll iron if necessary, as will DH. If I can tumble whatever in the dryer with a wet washcloth, I will.
Thirty-one y/o DD is picky about her clothes. She irons alot. I told her about spray on Downy wrinkle releaser but she just doesn't listen!

[Kmac15]

I had a friends daughter over to teach her to sew, when I had her press the material out before putting the pattern on she had no idea what I meant. LOL I had to teach a 16 yr old how to iron, seems her mom doesn't even own one.