I hate ironing. I won't buy anything that's not wash and wear right out of the dryer. It's the only part of quilting I hate.

My grandmother worked in a laundry when a young girl and she taught me to iron shirts the easy way, on the broad end of the ironing board. Put the whole back up to the collar,then manover to the left and right, back done. then do the same for the front. Then all you have is sleeve and rest of the shirt is flat ironing. I ironed my husbands military uniforms and yes, starched them till like a board. lol

My grandmother thought everything needed ironed even dish towels and socks I am horrible at ironing my dh used to iron our uniforms because he did a better job with all the knife pleats I spit shinned the shoes and boots

Either your mom and mine went to the same school, or there is only one right way to iron dress shirts! I do it in the exact same order that you do! I remember starting with ironing handkerchiefs to learn on. Then I graduated to ironing my Dad's cotton boxer shorts (wrinkles would be "painful for him" according to my Mom) and graduating to dress shirts.

So glad that we don't have to iron clothes (much) any more. Phew!

Honestly, I don't mind ironing. My dad used to make a really big deal about what a great job I did on his shirts! I think it was his way to keep getting his shirts ironed...I was #3 of 9 kids, so mom was always busy doing something else!!

Now that's funny. Too bad you weren't into quilting back then, I'm sure you would have enjoyed ironing pretty fabrics a lot more than t-shirts.

LOl. I remember when I got my started my nursing in 1992 aged 18. My uniforms were so starched when I got them you could stand them up. Wish your daughter luck. I love my job.

My Dad was a doctor and his shirts had to be perfect or the nurses would talk about what a lousy wife my mother was
( her paranioa I'm sure ) She would wash and dry his shirts, sprinkle them with water and roll them into a tight cylinder. I can still see then stacked on the dryer in the kitchen where we ate lunch. About Thursday she would iron, (the whole day if you asked her) and my Dad's white shirts would fill the closet.
She thought she'd died and gone to heaven when they brought out permanent press, and my Dad was just as happy with them. But all we girls, 3 of us, knew how iron shirts.
I was shocked when I married my second husband to find he ironed his own shirts. He got into that habit because that was a quiet time for him while he memorized his Masonic rites.
MaryKatherine

I ironed for my MIL in the '50's. She had a pin strip seersucker suit that made me sick to my stomach every time I ironed it. I think that started our problems that lasted for 30 yrs.

We didn't have a wringer washer but did hang out the laundry on the line. And I do remember the sprinkler bottle -- it was a recycled Aunt Jemima brown glass syrup bottle. Thank goodnes, though, Dad sent all of his shirts to the cleaners for washing, starching and ironing! How about darning? I remember darning and darning socks -- wow was that a project and it was all mine, for the whole family! Throwing them out these days or using as dusting clothes seems to make more sense.