Corduroy Care?

[mrpologuy]

Can corduroy pants be ironed at all? I have a pair with a few wrinkles in them and was wondering if they can be ironed out at all? Can I just steam them or would tossing them in the dryer for a few help? I thought I read on here that ironing corduroy flattens out the whales on it. Thanks for the help.

 

[Leaveitothexperts]

Originally Posted by mrpologuy

Can corduroy pants be ironed at all? I have a pair with a few wrinkles in them and was wondering if they can be ironed out at all? Can I just steam them or would tossing them in the dryer for a few help? I thought I read on here that ironing corduroy flattens out the whales on it. Thanks for the help.

I think I read on some earlier thread that they can be ironed inside out.

 

[Larry Lean]

I press mine through a thin linen tea towel lightly using a steam iron at full steam. Don't press down too hard with the iron!
Never use a hot iron stright on to cord or it will flatten the wales & create shine on the fabric.
Pressing inside out creates odd inverted creases in the front (think about it).

l.

 

[EL72]

Ironing inside out works fine for me.

 

[Larry Lean]

Originally Posted by EL72

Ironing inside out works fine for me.

How do you get the front creases looking right?

I suspect you have a secret I'd love to learn!

 

[EL72]

Originally Posted by Larry Lean

How do you get the front creases looking right?

I suspect you have a secret I'd love to learn!

No secret really. Since they are flat front casual pants, I usually forego the creases and just iron them flat. That said, it shouldn't be a problem to press a crease into them while inside out if you wanted to. I sometimes send them out for dry cleaning if I want them pressed and creased.

 

[Jovan]

Larry: Can you get a decent crease with your method? I usually don't care that much about it with cords, but I'm merely curious.

 

[Larry Lean]

Yes the regular pressing works just fine & you can get a nice crease just as sharp as you want it to be... Not that it will last for too long with cords unless you've lightly starched them first, but then doing that starts to get a little bit too fussy for such a soft, casual item of clothing.

Pressing in front creases inside out will result in a crease that goes in instead of pointing out.
Take a pair of pressed trousers & turn them inside out & you'll see how the crease forms a furrow down the front not a ridge.
(Hope I've managed to explain that in a way that's understandable!)

 

[Leaveitothexperts]

Originally Posted by Larry Lean

Yes the regular pressing works just fine & you can get a nice crease just as sharp as you want it to be... Not that it will last for too long with cords unless you've lightly starched them first, but then doing that starts to get a little bit too fussy for such a soft, casual item of clothing.

Pressing in front creases inside out will result in a crease that goes in instead of pointing out.
Take a pair of pressed trousers & turn them inside out & you'll see how the crease forms a furrow down the front not a ridge.
(Hope I've managed to explain that in a way that's understandable!)

I think there is a difference between pants and cords. I wear cords primarly as casual wear. I am not sure that creases in cords are even important, or needed in the first place. IMHO, If I had pleats on my cords (which will most likely never happen), I would just want the pleat pressed and not the whole crease to my ankle. Just my opinion though . . . .

Edit: for claification, I would iron the pants inside out with seams of each leg at each end as opposed to how you would iron a regular pant

 

[Larry Lean]

I suppose this is basically just the old Khakis debate - to crease or not to crease?
Both options are fine in my book. Just a matter of taste after all.

The good thing about these trousers is that you can dress them up or down.

I'm tempted to start talking about those who put creases in their old Levis now. But that would just be trolling.

 

[Jovan]

Yeah, I don't understand the point of creases in jeans. Where the hell did that trend start? The unfortunate thing about cotton other than corduroy is that once you crease, you can't really go back on it.

 

[dinted voice]

Didn't want to start a new thread so I thought I would revive an old one.

I have a cord jacket and the wales on the elbow have become flat due to wear and placing my elbows on my desk chair arms.

What would be the easiest way to stand up the wales? Would it be similar to getting the nap in suede to stand?

 

[Taxler]

Originally Posted by dinted voice

Didn't want to start a new thread so I thought I would revive an old one.

I have a cord jacket and the wales on the elbow have become flat due to wear and placing my elbows on my desk chair arms.

What would be the easiest way to stand up the wales? Would it be similar to getting the nap in suede to stand?

Mist it with water and then brush it lightly to even out the nap.

 

[EL72]

Originally Posted by dinted voice

Didn't want to start a new thread so I thought I would revive an old one.

I have a cord jacket and the wales on the elbow have become flat due to wear and placing my elbows on my desk chair arms.

What would be the easiest way to stand up the wales? Would it be similar to getting the nap in suede to stand?

This is the reason elbow patches exist. Have your tailor sew some on.

 

[East Oakland]

I have a thin-wale cord suit that I wear in the winter pretty regulalry. I generally just treat it like a wool suit--I brush it after I wear it and use steam to get out wrinkles. When I need it cleaned or I need it pressed (to put a fresh crease put in the pants), I take it to a professional.