Are You a Pressmatrix?

… I definitely am.  There is barely a day that goes by that I do not iron a garment, even on the weekend because most likely I am sewing.  There are some meditative qualities about it, such as the repetitive movement, the hiss of steam and most importantly the disappearance of wrinkles and I walk away feeling as steam cleaned as my clothes.

What makes my ironing session great is having the right tools...   Music is a must, Ironing pad or board, good steam Iron, a Pressing cloth, Squirt bottle (a/k/a Ms. Squirty), Pants board and my Handy Dandy brush.  (Purchased this brush specifically for use on my clothing, for certain garments it works better than a lint brush)

Then there is the need to swap ironing paraphernalia for the appropriate garment, in this session I was ironing a blazer, so I pulled out my trusty ham, sleeve board and lint brush (Ms Squirty is always in reach)

Sometimes the ironing pad is swapped for the mini ironing board and there you see Ms. Squirty still hanging around.

When all else fail, I pull out the big gun ... the Tobi steamer and have metal tongs to help me hold the fabric... I am that serious about my ironing.

My standard ironing board is used primarily for ironing fabric and to make that less time consuming, (yes, you heard the pressmatrix right... there are some things that I like to rush through), I have aluminum foil sandwiched between my ironing covers.  Somewhere and some time ago, I learned that the foil reflects heat and you are basically ironing from two sides and it definitely speeds the process along.  

Oh, I can't forget my homemade ironing solutions:

• Starch: Old spray bottle, 1 tbs of cornstarch for every 2 cups of water, stir well to dissolve & pour into spray bottle and done

• Wrinkle Releaser: old spray bottle, 1 cup of water for every tsp of fabric softner, shake well and done.

So are you a Pressmatrix?  

If so, what are your favorite tools.  

If not what techniques do you use.