How to Iron Clothes

Ironing is the finishing stage of our laundry guide, and it rewards method more than effort. Two skills account for nearly all good results: heat discipline — matching the iron's temperature to the fiber — and order, so that each part of a garment is pressed once and never creased again by the parts that follow. The reference for heat is already in the garment: the iron symbol on the care label carries one, two or three dots, and those dots are the same settings marked on the iron's own dial.

Temperature by Fiber: The Dots Set the Heat

• One dot — low, around 110°C / 230°F. The synthetics: acetate, acrylic, nylon and most polyester. Also the cautious setting for anything unidentified, and for garments with mixed fibers where one fiber is delicate.
• Two dots — medium, around 150°C / 300°F. Silk and wool live here. Many polyester blends sit here too; the label decides. A press cloth earns its keep at this level, protecting wool from shine and silk from direct heat.
• Three dots — high, around 200°C / 390°F. Cotton and linen, the only common fibers that want real heat. Both iron best slightly damp, which is why shirts come off the line or out of the dryer a touch before bone dry for the easiest pressing.

When a pile mixes fibers, work up the scale — delicates first, cotton last — so the iron is always heating toward the next garment and never cooling down while you wait. On anything precious or unfamiliar, test on an inside seam allowance first: ten seconds there answers what guessing cannot.

Ironing Is Not Pressing

The glide most people picture as ironing — sliding the hot plate back and forth — flattens large panels efficiently, but it also drags fabric, stretches bias edges and polishes wool and synthetics into shine. Pressing is the tailor's motion: set the iron down, hold it still for a few seconds, lift it clean away, move on. Anything with structure wants pressing — collars, lapels, pleats that are meant to stay, trouser creases, hems — while backs, skirts and other broad flat areas take the glide. Most well-finished garments use both, which is why the order below alternates between them.

Iron a Shirt in Order

1. The collar. Open it flat, wrong side up, and press from the points toward the center so no fold is trapped; turn it over and repeat on the right side. Working toward the middle is what keeps the collar's edges clean.
2. The cuffs. Unbuttoned and opened flat, inside first, then out — a cuff pressed while folded sets a crease you did not choose.
3. The sleeves. Lay each sleeve flat with its seam at one edge and press along its length. For a sleeve without a front crease, roll it over a sleeve board or press up to the edges without folding them down; a deliberate center crease is a style choice, not an accident to stumble into.
4. The yoke and shoulders. Slip each shoulder over the narrow end of the board and press the yoke panel smooth.
5. The back. The largest, easiest panel — glide freely, and work around any center pleat with the iron's point rather than flattening it.
6. The fronts. Press the button side first, guiding the iron's point between the buttons rather than over them, then the buttonhole side and its placket, keeping both flat and aligned.
7. Hang it at once. Straight onto a hanger, top button done up, while it is warm — a pressed shirt draped over a chair re-creases in minutes, and the finish sets as the fabric cools.

Steam or Dry?

Steam is a fiber relaxant: for cotton and linen it does half the work, and a stubborn area responds well to a spray of water and a moment's patience before the iron follows. Dry ironing suits silk that water-spots (test an inside edge first), delicate synthetics on low heat, and any pressing where steam's puff would undo a crisp edge. If your iron spits or leaves scale marks, the maker’s guidance on water is the authority — many modern irons are built for tap water, others advise distilled; follow the one that came with yours.