See the crease in this sleeve?
That is the way the sleeves on old baby dresses were pressed.
You lay the sleeve out on the ironing board like so. Then you ironed it.
It left a little tell tale crease but perked the sleeve right up!
Cute, huh?
"Only one thing matters-
That wherever we go
And however we go
We hear the music of life."
Theodor Fontane
All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2011 Jeannie Baumeister
Awesome tip... I always have trouble with pressing those puff sleeves!
ReplyDeleteThis is how my MIL taught me to do them as well. You are the only other person I have ever seen do it this way. I love the way they crisp up and stand at attention.
ReplyDeleteThat's how I press them. It makes them stand up so prettily!!!
ReplyDeleteIf you hang the dress on the clothes line with a plastic shoping bag stuffed in the sleeve, it doesn't tend to wrinkle, taking away the need to iron them.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, if you did have to iron them, this is a great way to do it.
I remember that well, in fact just last week needed to press a sleeve and used this method. Thanks for the lovely reminder. Some things still work just fine.
ReplyDeleteThat is neat! It never would have occurred to me to press a sleeve that way. I love the way it shapes the sleeve.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip! And it looks so much easier than the blasted puffing iron.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this tip! I'm not patient enough to stuff the sleeves of dresses while they dry, haven't really wanted to buy a puff iron, and press a LOT of puffed sleeves on my three daughters' dresses. I have always wondered what people did in the days before puff irons. I've developed my own approach but hadn't been quite satisfied with it. I will definitely use this and will love knowing I'm following in an old tradition. -Zina
ReplyDeleteThis is the way my mother taught me.
ReplyDeleteI also read once about spraying the inside of the sleeve cap with spray starch and using a hair dryer to blow into the sleeve cap to dry it while it's being puffed-out by the airflow. I haven't tried it yet.
I could never live without my beloved puff iron to get those tiny sleeves, bonnets, and ruffles free of wrinkles. However, this is a great alternative I would never have thought of on my own, so thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, what a gorgeous little dress. I am coveting that fabric.
ReplyDeleteJeannie, I am absolutely in love with this blog. Having just had a baby girl, I have been so frustrated by the modern styles of baby clothing, nothing like what I had always envisioned dressing my daughter in. I can see that if I want to dress her my way without paying boutique prices, I must learn to make her clothes myself.
I have no experience in hand sewing and am still fairly amateur in machine, but I can follow a pattern. Which of your lessons would you suggest for a rank beginner? Is the daygown sew-along series too complex? My mother passed me down a handmade daygown from her own 1950s infancy, and I'd love a few more things like it.
I also, by the way, am made terribly homesick by your photos. I was born and spent my early childhood in Baton Rouge, and most of my extended family is still there. You make this Florida transplant miss my Louisiana all the more, but I love the little bit of Old South I get to savor here.
Sunrise, the Daygown Sew A Long is intended for a beginner so you would be fine. You would have fun sewing for a little daughter!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I am off to look at the kit in your store. :)
ReplyDeleteit's really cute..thanks for sharing
ReplyDelete