Any other dry irons out there?
 

Are there any other dry irons (smooth sole plate, no holes) out there besides the Continental from the Vermont Country store? I love my Continental but they only seem to last about 1 1/2 years for me. I use a spritz bottle if I need "steam". What about irons that have really tiny steam holes that wont catch on fabric? If not, I will be ordering my third Continental...

I'm going to have a look at the Vermont CS too. I can't find any dry irons around here. Thanks!

I just use a regular iron and don't put water in it.

I couldn't live without the steam from my Rowenta. Good Luck in your search.

Vintage irons show up in my local thrift stores quite often. According to one employee, it's usually quilters who grab them up. I found a nice vintage Sunbeam steam iron at that store a couple years ago after burning up 2 cheap new irons. The insides literally melted, I'm lucky they didn't catch on fire. The Sunbeam is wonderful, but like you I still wanted a dry iron. A few months ago I found an old GE Handy Hannah dry iron and I'm loving it. I did have the plug replaced but it's the best iron I've ever had. It heats up fast and stays hot and there's no plastic inside it to melt.

Cari

Sandra, do you leave your iron on when you are not ironing? I've had mine
(same brand) for several years and it's still working. I unplug when I'm not using it.
I know some quilters who leave their iron plugged all the time and I wonder
if that doesn't shorten the life of the iron. I'm too scared of fires to leave
mine on.

I don't know why the Continental iron doesn't last. Mine quit heating after about a year and a half.

I wanted a dry iron as well. Couldn't find one. I bought a $30 Black & Decker. It's digital (what ever that is). It has a shiny sole plate ( a must), tiny holes. I never put water in my irons. Steams up my glasses too much. If need to I mist using a spray bottle of water. When it shuts off it makes a cute ding. Really like this one. Before I had a much more expensive with a non stick sole plate, what a mess, it always scorched the starch. I couldn't clean it. My sewing group has a Rowenta, I hate using it, takes me two days to remember to not leave my iron flat. At least this iron dings if I leave it flat.

I am so glad to find other quilters who don't use steam. I have never gotten the hang of it.....no matter what I do, steam irons always spit hot water out at me when I'm trying to press. I find my dry irons in the Salvation Army.

I tend to turn the heat indicator down to cold as far as it will go when I'm quilting but not pressing at that stage. I unplug completely when I finish for that session. My irons are lasting over 3 years since I purchased one which is excellent for me.

I've had my Continental for almost 5 yrs, and no problems with it. I unplug it when it's not being used.

I have never found the steam holes in the bottom plate of my iron have any effect on the ability of the iron to work. So every iron is a dry iron. I never put water in mine, steaming stretches fabric.
As for leaving it plugged in, do you at least turn it off? You cannot trust the auto off functions of an iron, just takes one earth quake, cat jumping on the ironing board, clumsy person walking past to knock that iron off (hence turning it on again). Turn it OFF! Unplugging has nothing to do with the life of an iron.
tim in san jose

I too have an iron with the holes but don't use water in it either. It does like to spit sometimes and it always seemed to happen on white/light fabric so I stopped putting water in it and like others use a spay bottle. When I am doing fusible applique, I use an old iron I picked up at a "junque" shop that does not have the steam holes. Much better for fusing. I too always turn my iron off if I am not going to use it for a while and always, always unplug it when I leave my studio (not attached to the house) for any reason. I know I would forget it sometime otherwise. It's a habit I want to keep going.

If your iron spits water make sure the water us hit. The only time mine spits is when the water is not hot enough to make steam.

My third Continental just quit, too. I guess I'll give up on that brand, but I really like it a lot when it works.

At Amazon, the Continental is almost $9 cheaper there and they have Black and Decker and some other brands of dry irons.

Susan

That works just fine for me. Or, try an old iron without water, one that no longer steams. That works too.

I've used an older Sunbeam without steam for quite a while now. It has an automatic shut off feature which can be a nuisance at times, but the dry pressing is perfect. I've never had problems with the steam holes making an impression on the fabric.
Blessings,
Angela

If you're concerned about fabric getting caught in the steam holes, are you doing applique? If so, the Clover Wedge Iron might be good for you. It's too small to use for ironing yardage, but has a solid sole plate, and is a good size for pressing individual blocks. I've seen it for sale on Craftsy, Amazon, and Nancy's Notions, and I assume it's available elsewhere as well.

I have an GE dry iron that I have been using for 50 years, check thrift stores for one of those. I have never had any problem with it. If I need steam I just use a spray bottle. I do have steam irons, but hardly ever use them.

That's what I do. Have never had a dry iron. Just didn't use water.

My favorite iron with a no-holes sole plate is an ancient one I found at a Habitat Resale place. Maybe look there?

I found a black and Decker dry iron on Ebay recently. My iron from Vermont CS bit the dust last month after two years

Me too!!! I love the steam.

I have had no luck with the Continental from Vermont Country store. The first one they sent me was damaged in transit according to FedEx and they wouldn't deliver it as a result. Vermont Country Store sent a replacement that heated up really fast and was good and seemed really nice, but the 2nd time I used it something started rattling around inside, so it went back. Vermont Country Store sent yet a third Continental to me, but the sole plate was incredibly rough (a manufacturing defect) and dragged the fabric around the ironing board as a result. So I sent that one back too... Oh well.

Rob

I have used Rowentas and now I have a Panasonic Cordless. I never put water in them and just use a spray bottle of water or 50/50 water and Best Press.

I also unplug my iron when I am done using it.

I put a hair scrunchie around my wrist BEFORE I plug in my iron - then I remove the scrunchie AFTER I unplug the iron. That way I'm not wondering if the iron is on.
I use a dry iron and spray bottle, too.

Most dry one now are old mine belonged to my mother which is a G E I used it when growing up as a kid. And I'm 67 now. Still works great. Don't want to walk away from it. It still gets hot and will scorch very quickly as always. I received it in her passing. A lot of memories there. A lot of Bt chewings. I got to do a lot of the Ironing as a kid. Always starched and ironed. Weren't no per pres back then. Found one a while back at GW 5$ needs rewiring.
Still get very hot. Looking for org cloth cord.

I am a spray bottle user as well. My iron is plugged into a power strip along with a lamp. I turn on the iron at the power strip-and on goes the lamp. When I turn off the iron at the power strip-off goes the lamp. If the room is dark when I quit for the night, I know the iron is off. (not my idea, but I LOVE It...and my DH knows the iron is off and quit bugging me)

I found a dry iron, a new one. It's the new Clover Wedge iron. It is perfect for applique projects and for keeping next to my machine at classes. After I used it yesterday I bought another one for my quilt friend for Christmas.

I bought my Continental from VCS, too. Have had it now for about 6 months and love it. It did stop heating after third use. DH is an electrical engineer and he took it apart. Apparently a "spade" connector (the part that attaches the cord inside the iron) had come loose. He tightened it and viola! Works like a charm. Love the heft of the iron. Have used many different brands over the years, but this is the first true dry iron I've had. Won't go back to steam irons.

Since your DH is an electrical engineer, maybe he could enlighten us on the matter of electric
irons. I heard that the iron still use power when leaving the iron "off" but not unplugging.
It's like a dimmer switch.
BTW, back to the Continental iron, don't know if it's the same problem we're talking about
but my iron cord gets squished if I stand it up. To solve that problem I always put set in
a brownie pan (at an angle). No more squished cord.