HELP - What's the best iron?
 

I have a Sunbeam iron and when I am pressing seams I have it set on linen - the hottest it will go. When I am doing just one seam it works great. But I have started a double irish chain quilt and I iron each seam as I go. But when the block is done it just doesn't look flat. I don't know if when I look at tutes on line if the seams just look flatter than they really are or if my iron just doesn't get hot enough.

I noticed a lot of tutes show Rowenta irons and I just wasn't sure if they were worth the price. Do they really iron that much better or get hotter?

I will be honest. The best irons IMHO were cheap ones. I've had more problems with high dollar irons. I've also heard allot of unhappy campers with Rowenta. And fire problems with them. What are you ironing on? Is it pretty padded? If so you might not have a firm enough pressing surface. One thing I personally prefer is an iron without a auto shut off. Hard for me to find.

I have had 2 Rowentas and I hated them. They leaked and the cord shorted out and had to be held at a very specific angle in order to work. I tried a Shark and I hated it too! I then asked the owner of a local Bernina dealer what they would recommend and she told me a "Reliable". She also said that they used to sell them but Rowenta did so much more advertising that the Reliable never really caught on for them and they quit carrying them. I had never heard of a reliable and did some research. I finally bought a Reliable Velocity off Amazon. I have had it a couple of years and I love it. It is heavy and when it steams, it really steams. One of the main reasons I bought this model is that you can set it auto shut off or to stay on indefinitely - a real time saver for me. It cost around $100 which is a lot, but I use it every day and had been worth every dime to me.

Good question. I will be following this post. I would like to have a small (6-7"), lightweight iron that get hot - no steam needed. Hope someone can direct us to the right tool.

I need a new iron and have also heard good things about the Reliable brand irons. I was wondering, though, if the steaming option can be turned off for those times when you don't need it, or do you just leave the water out for those occasions?

i've been sewing for 45+ years- and love my cheap, cheap irons...i've over the years had a couple (high-end) irons which i hated and would wind up going back to the $20 or less irons.
I never ever put water into an iron- i hate sputtering, spitting, leaking irons! i keep a spray bottle of water on the end of my ironing board when i need to press a seam nice & flat- or need a spritz of steam on any block i simply spritz with my spray bottle then press- works great.
remember there is going to be (layers) of fabric where seams are- so they are not actually totally flat- as long as your seam is (crisp) straight & smooth you are probably doing just fine.
I have found i normally have to replace my cheap-o iron about every 3-5 years (although i've had a couple that lasted longer) but i don't mind- figuring i had to replace that last $159 iron in less than 3 months!
i know there are people who swear by the expensive ones & love them- i am happy they have something that works for them (i do have to wonder though how often they buy a new one???)
in my mind (since i used my grandmother's iron for almost 20 years after she passed away & i don't know how long she used it before me) i think an iron should last a good long time- not a matter of months....just my opinion...

I bought this iron from walmart... http://www.walmart.com/ip/Black-Deck...urple/16816451 I bought it online and picked it up at my store since they had it in stock... but it's a great iron for me. It's much more powerful wattage wise than my last B&D iron and it has a really long cord that I love. It's my favorite iron.

If you do decide to get that one make sure you remove the plastic on the iron's soleplate before you turn it on... yeah... ask me how I now know there's a plastic film on the bottom of the iron....

any old one anything before 1990. I have a few old irons, a couple for the 50's and one for the 70's. First of all they get very hot!!!! second the don't shut off...will stay hot the whole time in use...because of safety reason today's irons don't get too hot which is bad for us quilters....if you want to see my irons I will post pix for you. One cost $3.00 at a yard sell and the other was 10.00. I got a 100.00 dollar (will not mention names but, it starts with an R) and returned after two weeks. Started leaking!!!!!!

One that doesn't have an automatic shut off and has a heavy metal plate. This has the auto shut off but just tilt it and let it heat before using. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Black-Deck...ndingMethod=rr
Using spray starch is nice too. Let the starch dry before ironing.

I have a Reliable and had loved it until it blew out and I had to send it in for repair. Company is located in Canada and it cost a lot to mail both ways. A couple of weeks after I got it back, it went out again. Back to Canada. I am hoping that was the last time! It heats up so much that it becomes a space heater, so Im waiting for cooler weather to start using it again. I will never buy a Rowenta again! Spits and spews. I really like my $13.00 Black & Decker I got to replace the Reliable while it was in for repairs. I suggest when buying an iron to get whatever Costco has because of their return policy.