The Lexington advertiser. [volume] (Lexington, Miss.) 1904-1985, 1948-11-18
M E
HINTS
By
FRANCES
FCRTENBERRY
Home Economics
Director Miss. Power
q Light Co.
AS YOU SEW PRESS 1T TOO

AS YOU SEW PRESS 1T TOO
Whatever you choose to sew in
your free time--whether it's
summer frock or q cute skirt
make it really professional by
pressing each tuck and seam and
dart as you sew. The resulting gar
ment will be smooth and neat and
will be much more finished. Press
ing is the secret to good tailoring.
All you need to reach this goal
of perfection are a well-padded
ironing board. a sleeve board,
sleeve pad. an iron with a tempera-
ture control Ca steam iron is also
desirable), pressing cloths, and
sponge for dampening.
Remember that you're pressing,
not ironing, so lift the iron and
set it down morlentarily on the
spot to be pressed. continual back
and forth ironing may stretch
many materials and get seams out
of shape.
SEAMS
Press each seam after you've
stitched it. Before joining one
piece to another press them from
the bottom or in toward the mid
die of the garment. At the waist
line press seams up and out rather
than in towards the middle. Press
flattened straight seams on a regu-
lation board. Sleeve seams are
easier to press and look better if
you use a sleeve board. Press to-
wards the neck on armhole seams
tnl l.,
or a lining is to be put in. In that
case use tailor's cushion, which
works well for pressing curved
seams. The small end of sleeve
board can also be used.
Darts And Gathers
Darts should be pressed flat, up
or towards the center on light
weight fabrics: but IL the material
is heavy, press the darts open.
Gathers should not be pressed flat.
Instead, work the point of the iron
into the gathers, holding parts of
the material up from the board.
y HENS
Always press the lower edge of
the dress before marking the hem
width. When the hem is finished,
remove the hastings and press the
hem down from the top edge to the
fold, never around the bottom Of
the skirt. Any basting thread
marks are removed by steaming on
the wrong side.
FULLNESS
Excess fullness in the hemline,
or top of sleeves should be steam
ed out before sewing, using your
iron and damp cloth and a tall
or's cushion for sleeves. Fullness
in hem can be steamed out be-
fore stitching on the seam binding.
DIFFERENT FABRICS
Some materials can be pressed
successfully on the wrong side,
without press cloth. However,
there are exceptions. It's a good
idea to make a test on similar
scrap If you're not sure. It's very
important that in any case you set
the switch on your automatic iron
to the correct temperature. COT
TON-Sponge lightly. Press on
right side. Use dampened cheese
cloth If test scrap shows sheen.
LINEN-Sponge lightly. Press
on wrong side.
RAYON AND SILK-Because
there are so many different types
of rayons requiring different IRON
ing temperatures, set your iron
dial to the lowest part of the ray
on" marking and test a scrap OF
your material first. Then adjust
the heat upwards to get the best
results.
WOOL--Cover with a dry heavy
cloth and place over it a damp
cloth. Press to steam. Finish press
ing with dry cloth.
VELVETEEN OR CORDUROY
Press on the wrong side fabrics
which have pile. Dampen slightly
and place turkish towel under
the portion to be steamed. Don't
let The weight of the iron bear
down.