Have you tried???
 

Has anyone ever tried those pressing table top steam presses for ironing fabric after prewashing? Theyre pricey but I wondered if they would work well for this.

do you mean one of these?
http://www.yourjealousneighbors.com/...ge_1082199.htm

if so, i tried one once years ago at a knitting friend's house. she swore by it for pressing her knits for a professional look. they remind me of an old fashioned mangle.

I've not tried the 'new fangled' pressers, but I do have an Ironrite mangle: http://archive.org/details/MakingaN1946_2

You've just sent me on a trip down memory lane ... as a kid I used to iron things in the mangle and thought it was so FUN!

I was tempted by one at a thrift store last year and thought I was nuts for even considering it.
... another time, perhaps I will be smarter and nab one.

QuiltE ~ I also remember using a mangle. Mother had me 'iron' Dad's white t-shirts (back in the day when men always wore a t-shirt under their dress shirt). I got pretty good with the mangle! :) But would not have one now, because I do not iron, only press. :)

My mother had one while we were growing up. It was something everyone seemed to have in the 50's. But we moved in 1965 and it ended up in the basement and never used. She gave it to a church to press their linens in early 2000. It still worked great and they were happy to have it.

I have one of those steam presses. I used to use it when I decorated a lot of towels, not terry cloth but cotton plaids. I bought towels that I cut in two to make them smaller and they had to be pressed. Then I decorated them with appliques. I probably sold thousands of them. The only thing I see could be a problem is it gets extremely hot. I have not tried it for ironing fabric after washing. I may have to get it off the top shelf and try it.

My mom had one and use to iron all our sheets and other things. It was huge!! I remember her sweating while she worked. She didn't seem to enjoy it. Now I wonder "why did she iron our sheets?"

I think I remember seeing Eleanor Burns using one years back, but haven't seen her use it since.

I worked in a dry cleaners in HS. I learned to use the big steam presses. They had both top and bottom steam. That little thing just disappointed me.

I have one of those but it didn't come with steam. I used it when pressing a lot of denim and large pieces of fabric when I was making clothing. I haven't used it in a long time. Been doing more quilting than clothing sewing.

WOW, thanks for the memories. My mother had one when I was a child in the 50's and I hadn't thought about that in years!

You're right. Eleanor Burns did use one on Quilt in a Day,when Elna was the sponsor for her program.

Wow, I've never seen one of those. Before my time. It looks like it more work than it's worth to me!

Thankfully, we never had one. We did have a wringer washer that we took from the shed to the back deck and ran a water hose to. Hated that thing!

Sheets??? Heck I remember learning to iron and I had to iron my bras and brother's undershirts....What was my mom thinking??? Guess in am emergency I would be the gal in the best pressed underwear...LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I remember the mangles from the 50s. We didn't have one but one of the neighbors did. No A/C then either, some stores were starting to get it and would advertise on their windows 'come in its cool inside'. I love A/C but, never got central air until 1987. We also had a wringer washer in the 50s. After we got married we had one until about 1972-3. We use to hang out laundry in the 50s and I did too, until about 1987.
I have no desire to go back. I love progress and that is my motto, 'just go forward'.

What a trip down memory lane! My mother also had a mangle and she ironed everything also; sheets, shirts, my dad's underwear, you name it! I think she was so relieved when permanent press items began to appear. I learned how to use it but am quite content with my ironing board and iron for all my needs; sewing and personal.

I am old as dirt and have never seen one of those things. :D

She ironed your sheets because everything wrinkled. Usually they were hung on the line to dry. When I was a young girl, my aunt had one of those big ironing machines. I thought that was the best thing ever. When I was about 10, I started out ironing hankerchiefs, sp., and table napkins, then moved on to pillow cases, then up to table cloths. There was no permanent press, so everything had to be ironed. One day was wash day, the next was ironing day. And we complain...

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.

I believe that is what Mrs. Beeton advocated. Just as well she is no longer alive because there would be many a woman who'd like to hang her. I think also a lot of things were cotton or other natural fibre. Mrs. Beeton's book was published in in 1861.

I irin NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!! IF IT'S WRINKLED IT STAYS THAT WAY!

She ironed the sheets, as did almost everyone in the period before we got no-iron cottons. The sheets of cotton wrinkled badly unless dried quickly on a line on a hot windy day. My mother did the same in the 30s and 40s.

I learned to iron on Dad's boxers, handkerchiefs and pillowcases. I actually don't mind ironing. Before my husband died, I ironed all his dress shirts and took great pride in how good he looked when he left the house.