I need a new iron and was hoping you would help choose one. My old iron was a hand-me-down so I'm not even sure what things I should be looking for. I don't want to spend a ton of money.

Also, are all ironing boards created equal?

I don't know anything about irons. I do know that I have found using a travel iron for piecing near my sewing machine works great. They are smaller and easier for me to use. I use a portable ironing pad, cutting combo for an ironing board. I couldn't tell you what the difference is on either one. Good luck!

I go thru irons like crazy, so I just buy the cheap ones at walmart.

I have to agree with Oklahoma Suzie - I got sucked into a $200 iron at a craft show, and have never really been happy with it, but have far to much invested not to use it anyway. Wish I had gone cheap and just thrown it away when it didn't work as good anymore.

The next time I need an iron I am going to look at the thrift stores.

Thanks all! I'll be heading to Walmart to buy a cheapy iron :)

I have had my Rowenta for about 10 years and love it. I also have a small Shark travel iron that I really like to. I like the shark so much, when my Rowenta goes out I will probably by a full size Shark. I know Walmart has them, but not sure of the price.

I have a full size Shark and like it, but does the auto-off feature drive anyone else crazy or just me

i look buy my iron,s in yard sale or thrift stores the old fashion kind i like those the best they get real hot and their heavy for good pressing on fabrics , may be you'll find some in thrift store,s

I only have the travel size, does not have that feature. But the Auto on and off on my Rowenta drives me nuts.

Irons - my pet peeve! I can't seem to find one that doesn't start leaking after a couple of months. The one I have now is a $30 Shark from WalMart. Two months - leak leak leak. So now I am using a spray bottle of water and keep the iron on 'dry'. I hate it. I'll be going back to WalMart soon and I'll just get a cheap $13 Black and Decker. I do like the auto-shut off because I'm an airhead. I really don't want to burn the house down.

My cheap Black and Decker is leaking like crazy too!!
Has anyone heard much about the new Reliable Irons. My LQS has them on sale for $140.00.
Of course they say it is the greatest iron out there. Anyone every used one of these?

Ditto on going thru irons at an unhappy rate. On another subject... Marjpf, everytime I see one of your posts I've wanted to ask:

"Lady, what did you do to your dog?!!" :-)

I just bought the Shark Pro at Walmart for a hair under $50. Holy cow it is AWESOME!

Mine is just a Black and Decker. Nothing fancy.

I have a real nice Rowenta, but it's very big and has auto shut-off. So I got a $9.99 Proctor Silex at Walmart. It's not too big, it heats up very quickly and does not have auto shut-off. Best of all I've never put water in it, lol.

i bought one of those last month, too. so far i am in love with it. it's the first iron i've ever owned on which the shot-of-steam feature not only works, but actually provides a blast of steam.

after i bought it i read some reviews. the reputation seems to be that they're the greatest iron on the planet while they're working. many complaints that they quit working sooner than most owners like.

time will tell. i'm very hard on irons so if i get a year out of it before it can no longer take the abuse, i'll be thrilled.

:lol:

I have a Panasonic cordless iron. The base has a cord but the iron itself is cordless. I love it because I can move around without the cord getting in the way. The only problem is that it does have have the auto shut off if you don't move it around. I would like it better if it did not shut off so quickly. I have had it about 2 years and no problem, no leaking.

I use two different irons.
One is a cheap Black and Decker that I got at Walmart. I use it to iron large pieces of fabric before cutting.
My Rowenta travel iron is for piecework. It is lightweight and has steam. It dosnt distort blocks or seams. It dosnt get as hot as a big iron so it is not good for large pieces of fabric. I just love it.

Mine is a Black and Decker from WM and I really like it. I've never had a problem with an iron leaking and they usually last me several years. My last one was 10 years old before I decided to replace it.