Scherensammler
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 3,557
Hello dears!
Some time ago I offered to do a tutorial about how to press a lapel to make it look nice and crisp again. I had almost forgotten about it but
ConchitaWurst
kindly reminded me.
So here is the tutorial on how to press a lapel.
It's not something to be afraid of, although it can be somewhat tricky when dealing with certain cloth and colour combinations (dark cloths and in particular twill weaves can be a bit nasty).
Here's what you need:
1.) A crumpled lapel that needs pressing
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2.) A proper iron with a minimum weight of 2 kg. There are several options available, although not everyone has the space to set up this gravity feed iron with a waterbucket hanging from the ceiling:
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This would be my tool of choice, a heavy, dry tailor's iron of 5 kg weight.
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Since this is meant to be for doing it at home, I opted for a standard household steam iron (the brand doesn't really matter):
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Preferably it has these two buttons, one for extra steam and one for spraying water.
Should your iron does not have the latter just use a spray bottle and set the nozzle to a fine mist to avoid large drops of water.
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Set the temperature between wool and cotton to make sure the iron is hot enough for the task.
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Now with the iron sorted out you need a few other things:
1) A sleeve board. Can easily be found in department or hardware stores. For this job a sturdy wooden board, covered with cloth, is better than the stretch metal version. The reason for this is that the stretch metal board has only a thin cover and the shape of the stretch metal might transfer to the cloth.
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2) A pressing cloth. Preferred materials are fine cotton (fake Riva will do just fine) or fine linen to withstand higher temperatures. If you don't happen to have bought fake Riva shirt cloths on streets on Naples you can either use a piece of an old bed sheet or an old shirt.
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Now to the actual process of pressing the lapel. Place the lapel on the sleeve board so that the lapel crease is exactly on the edge of the board. By doing so you avoid killing the roll of the lapel:
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Now place the pressing cloth on top of the lapel, make sure both are flat and smoothed.
Use either the iron's spray option or the spray bottle to slightly wet the pressing cloth.
Avoid spraying the nearby lining, as the water can leave marks.
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Now place the iron on the pressing cloth, starting at the bottom of the lapel, putting some extra weight on the iron:
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Leave the iron on the cloth until that part is completely dry:
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Repeat the step until you reach the top of the lapel:
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The end result should be a crisp looking, sharp lapel edge:
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So time allows, I will continue this series, showing how to freshen up collar and sleeves.
Some time ago I offered to do a tutorial about how to press a lapel to make it look nice and crisp again. I had almost forgotten about it but

So here is the tutorial on how to press a lapel.
It's not something to be afraid of, although it can be somewhat tricky when dealing with certain cloth and colour combinations (dark cloths and in particular twill weaves can be a bit nasty).
Here's what you need:
1.) A crumpled lapel that needs pressing

2.) A proper iron with a minimum weight of 2 kg. There are several options available, although not everyone has the space to set up this gravity feed iron with a waterbucket hanging from the ceiling:

This would be my tool of choice, a heavy, dry tailor's iron of 5 kg weight.

Since this is meant to be for doing it at home, I opted for a standard household steam iron (the brand doesn't really matter):

Preferably it has these two buttons, one for extra steam and one for spraying water.
Should your iron does not have the latter just use a spray bottle and set the nozzle to a fine mist to avoid large drops of water.


Set the temperature between wool and cotton to make sure the iron is hot enough for the task.

Now with the iron sorted out you need a few other things:
1) A sleeve board. Can easily be found in department or hardware stores. For this job a sturdy wooden board, covered with cloth, is better than the stretch metal version. The reason for this is that the stretch metal board has only a thin cover and the shape of the stretch metal might transfer to the cloth.

2) A pressing cloth. Preferred materials are fine cotton (fake Riva will do just fine) or fine linen to withstand higher temperatures. If you don't happen to have bought fake Riva shirt cloths on streets on Naples you can either use a piece of an old bed sheet or an old shirt.

Now to the actual process of pressing the lapel. Place the lapel on the sleeve board so that the lapel crease is exactly on the edge of the board. By doing so you avoid killing the roll of the lapel:

Now place the pressing cloth on top of the lapel, make sure both are flat and smoothed.
Use either the iron's spray option or the spray bottle to slightly wet the pressing cloth.
Avoid spraying the nearby lining, as the water can leave marks.

Now place the iron on the pressing cloth, starting at the bottom of the lapel, putting some extra weight on the iron:

Leave the iron on the cloth until that part is completely dry:

Repeat the step until you reach the top of the lapel:

The end result should be a crisp looking, sharp lapel edge:

So time allows, I will continue this series, showing how to freshen up collar and sleeves.