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What make some shirts easier to iron than others?

post #1 of 13
12/18/11 at 7:52am
Thread Starter 
Although I do my own ironing out of necessity (local launderers have destroyed too many shirts of mine) I don't particularly care for the effort. It takes me at least 15 minutes per shirt; I try to do it in front of the TV so the time does go fast, but it's still painful because many of my shirts just don't cooperate. Wrinkles don't iron out easily, or they come back quickly; I have to re-press some parts; some parts do not lay flat easily on the iron board, and so forth. Some shirts can be very frustrating.

But, I've noticed that a few of my shirts seem to defy the odds and iron very quickly and cleanly. It does not seem to follow a price point. I have a couple of Kiton ("Riva") and RLPL (cotton, no idea from where) that iron about as easily as ironing a no-iron shirt out of the washer. But my LP, Borelli, Brioni shirts are horrible to iron. The cheaper Ike Behars I have iron smoothly; the more expensive ones are terrible. The thicker, older Brooks Brother shirts also iron well while the newer thinner ones I have are usually a headache. To be honest, I haven't been able to discern a pattern; I have a lot of shirts but only enough to notice the above.

So, does anyone know what properties of a fabric (that is not "wrinkle-free" treated) allow it to become somewhat wrinkle-resistant and easy to iron? I would love to know how to identify a fabric that will wrinkle less and iron more easily so that I can take that into consideration when shopping.
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post #2 of 13
12/18/11 at 7:56am
Do you have a light weight low power iron?

Outside of linen which is a bitch to iron if not wet the rest isn't a huge difference. But it takes a good heavy iron that does the work.
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post #3 of 13
12/19/11 at 1:27am

it's more about what kind of fabric or cloth used rather than the weight of the iron.

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post #4 of 13
12/19/11 at 5:23am
I'm assuming we are talking about regular (non-non iron) cotton shirts here.

I have noticed the thickness and the weave of the cotton make a big difference with thicker cotton wrinkling less easily.
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post #5 of 13
12/19/11 at 6:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Patek View Post

I'm assuming we are talking about regular (non-non iron) cotton shirts here.
I have noticed the thickness and the weave of the cotton make a big difference with thicker cotton wrinkling less easily.

That's also my experience.

I read somewhere (sorry, don't remember where) that the weaving also determines how the shirt wrinkles, for instance an oxford or a poplin shirt will be more wrinkle resistant than a plain one.
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post #6 of 13
12/19/11 at 6:54am
it has depends on the ironing board, iron, and dampness of the shirt

The techniques and ways you iron also count.. 15min is too long to iron each shirt I think
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post #7 of 13
12/19/11 at 6:54am
Buy a can of one of these. You won't believe the difference it makes in removing wrinkles and how it brings crispness to older fabrics that have seen many washings. Note that this is "Sizing", not "Starch".

204 204

Shirt Ironing "Spray Sizing vs Spray Starch"

Dig's edit: Do I sound like a laundry commercial from the 60's? lol8[1].gif

210
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post #8 of 13
12/19/11 at 11:02am

Try twill fabric - http://www.bluewardrobe.com/Twill-38-83.html

 

The only down side is that is a bit softer than other shirt fabrics.

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post #9 of 13
12/19/11 at 5:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by swiego View Post

\ It takes me at least 15 minutes per shirt; .

I'll have a go and say that you're a hopeless ironer.Although I must admit I have had two lots of different Egyptian cotton shirts custom made and they are both prone to wrinkle and difficult to iron. The higher grade fabric being the worst.

I also had some cheap chinese cotton and silk shirts ciustom made for about a third of the price of the Egyptian cotton ones from an on-line tailor and the only time I iron them is if I have an important meeting. Otherwise I wear them straight from the dryer.

My gulty secret is that I much prefer wearing the cheaper shirts over the Egyptian cotton ones anyway. They are a lighter and much more attractive fabric and at the price I can easily afford to replace them as often as I want
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post #10 of 13
12/19/11 at 5:43pm

If your iron has a steaming mechanism be sure to use it. 

 

As a poster mentioned, the ease can also be dependent on the dampness of the shirt. Use your iron's steam!

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post #11 of 13
12/19/11 at 6:26pm

I have several shirts that are just about hopeless unless I take them to the shirt laundry.  Most of my other shirts get handwashed in the sink, rinsed, squeezed but not wrung to remove excess water, dipped in a 1-1 solution of liquid starch and tap water, squeezed to remove the excess, and hung up.  Ideally, when they are just damp, I iron them, and it takes no time at all to get crisp, nice shirts.  If they dry all the way, I spritz them with a little water from a spray bottle, and iron.  I get much better results than using spray starch, and they seem to resist wrinkles better too.

 

I have found that if I use spray starch, the shirts look great...for about 10 minutes, then they turn into a pile of wrinkles.

 

I also use the heaviest iron I could find locally...Black and Decker Classic, bit chrome plated monster.  It doesn't have many features, no blast of steam, etc, but it does really well on shirts and throws LOTS of steam.

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post #12 of 13
12/19/11 at 6:26pm
Thread Starter 
To clarify, I am referring to what I can only assume are fabric differences, given all other things being equal.

FWIW, I do use a pretty heavy iron and a fairly nice board, and typically iron shirts damp. But regardless of whether I iron them damp with steam, or dry with no steam, or anything in the middle, I notice that certain shirts always smooth out much more quickly than others. I suspect the thin cotton in 2-ply irons the best, but it's hard to be sure not always knowing exactly what the shirts are made of. I agree with Galix, I would think the weave would have a big impact as well.
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post #13 of 13
12/19/11 at 6:31pm

I just took a quick look at my "tough to iron shirts" and they are all must-iron 100% cotton, and relatively thin fabrics.  Oxford cloth and twill tends to be easier to iron, and less prone to wrinkling.

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