I have had an Elna press for years and it is great for pressing fabrics for quilting

I had no idea these things even existed in today's world. I love this!

People used to iron sheets, underwear, hankerchiefs and napkins because the heat kills germs. After everyone got clothes dryers, which also heat things up, some of the drudge work was avoided. I've never tried a mangle, but in theory it should press quilt pieces nicely without distorting them. I'll be reading through this thread to see what everyone thinks of them.

In the 50's I remember my grandmother using one. It was so fast to use.

I have one that I bought when I was making quilts using the Cotton Theory method. Now I use it often when I'm making tshirt quilts. It works great to fuse the stabilizer onto the back of the tshirt fabric while using parchment paper to cover the tshirt front. I also use it for pressing small pieces that I want to starch heavily - again using parchment paper to protect the cover fabric. Mine doesn't have steam but a spritz of water will do the same thing.

I think the reason for ironing sheets (back in the day) was to sanitize the sheets due to deseases and colds, etc. Of course back then, you learned how to iron on kitchen towels, boxers, pillow cases, etc., using a regular iron and board.

I used to run a mangle in an un-airconditioned laundry as a summer job for 3 years in a row. Worst job I ever had. However, it did teach me some skills. I am now friends with the owner of a laundromat/Dry Cleaners. When I have a lot of fabric to pre-wash/press, I take it down to the laundromat, and wash it on gentle cycle, dry until still moist. Then they let me take it in the back and run it all through the mangle so "woosh", in a few minutes I have all of my fabric pressed and expertly folded. Days of work done in a morning (depending on how much I have, but I often save it up to do this). Yes, I still have to press and sometimes starch while cutting, and certainly while sewing, but it's minimal once the fabric has first been pressed. The owner lets other quilters use the mangle for a small fee. I'm swopping babysitting their dog for my freebie.

I've never heard of a mangle! I learn something every day on this board!

I remember my grandma having one very old fashioned one. It just had some big wooden rollers with no heat. I never got to try it, but I remember my mom raving about how wonderful it was. I remember using the gas iron though. My little sister had these cute fluffy nylon dresses, & one time when I was ironing it , a flame shot out the side, & burned a hole into it. After that I only used the ones we heated on the stove. I think they were called "sad irons".

I can attest to this as rebeljane is BFF and I have used her Elna press and have seen her use it too. It's great.