Quote:
Originally Posted by momof2birds
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.
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I'm a 47 yr old granddaughter of depression era "make do or do without' grandparents. Who these days would know why a bottle with tiny holes poked in the cap would be sitting on the end of the ironing board ( btw, my board is avocado, from the early '70's !) ?
My three young adults do know how to iron...none of us really like to more than absolutely necessary. If we have a crumpled garment ( usually a folded over placket, hem etc... we spray the offensive wrinkled parts with a water filled spray bottle and iron, or spray and /or do the ol' damp towel trick and put it in the dryer for a few minutes to shake out wrinkles. Sometimes I take something wrinkled, hang it up and spray it with water til rather damp...smooth it -shape it then allow it to dry- and it'll look very neat.
I did grow up having "fun" running curtains, sheets, hankies, pillowcases, slacks/ other clothing between rollers on a professional ironer. Since it was two rollers I assume it's what someone called a mangle, right?
Also DH and I moved into a house 25 yrs ago that had no electric for about a week. Well, Sunday morning came around and I had wrinkled dress clothes to spiff up. I found a sad iron in the basement, placed it on the kerosene heater and used it on our clothes- it's the kind that you squeezt the mid knob to change handles when it grew too cool and needed switched to a hot iron. I still use it if I have too. I can see it from where I sit posting this. My "new" iron is a thrift shop find...it's a stainless steel oldie from the sixties. My kitchen is decorated with early-to-mid 20th century kitchen gadgets and I often pull stuff down to use 'em. Reminds me of my Grandma's kitchen.
Where we live now- there's a nice flat spot up in our slope-y woods where the folks who lived here in the 30's-40-s would pull a wagon full of laundry up in the woods next to the spring and fill the washtub with water and spend all day Monday washing clothes then hauling them home to line dry. Tuesday was ironing day.
With the exception of a few types of fabric...do people realise these days that most clothing can be washed in hot water and they won't shrink? It's a (((HOT DRYER))) that draws up the fabric's fibers and shrinks MOST cloth. Hot water may make colors bleed though.
-scrt crk
Actually, my clothes don't seem to need ironing... Ever. Wool doesn't wrinkle (except Pendleton). Cotton doesn't really, either. I don't know if silk can be ironed or not...
