What kind of iron do you like best? My general purpose iron died this morning, and I need to choose a new one. I want a good one that will steam as well as dry iron. Since all quilters iron fabric all the time I know you will have good input! :wink:

I would not recommend the Oliso...My son gave me one for Christmas 3 years ago, had to send it back, and the 2nd one gave me problems as well..and it bit the dust here about 5 months ago...Way to expensive to have such a short life......Plus I've known three other people that had the same complaints as me....I'm interested to see what others recommend as well...

San
FL

You know, honestly - for the longest time I thought I wanted a really pricey Rowenta or an Oliso after using each that friends had, but I found an awesomely cheap all purpose Proctor Silex iron at Kmart for $9.99 and it has outperformed every other iron I've used. Name brand and pricey one's don't always mean everything. I am now very glad I saved all that money (well over $100) by buying this cheap one. It's awesome!

Explosive blessings, abundance and inspiration to you all!
- The Creative Seamstress

I have had two top of the line Rowenta's both died the same way ... just kept getting hotter and hotter and hotter , melted the thread and scorced the fabric. Never again. I loved all the steam but not worth the price . Two Rownenta's in five years was enough for me.
I think they are not what they once were.
I can recommend that you do not get a teflon coated plate. They just do not clean up well if you get some fusible or starch build up. Look for a good Stainless Steel sole plate.

my fabulous black & decker i bought for $12 at wally world has lasted for 4 years now...stays hot and works great...i never ever put water in an iron...i keep a spray bottle of water on the end of my ironing board. i found that it does not matter if you spend $12 or $159 on your iron, if you put water in it it will start spitting and sputtering at you in a very short period of time. i like my iron to stay hot and it does-for hours and hours some days...and no problems...best $12 i ever spent

I have a B&D - probably the same one as ckcowl. I have had it for a few years now and it's a work horse. Several of my friends liked mine so much they went and bought one for themselves - now we all have the same iron!

It's an awesome iron - and I paid about $12 for it.

side note -
For what it's worth my parents volunteer twice a year at a massive rummage sale for the Visiting Nurses and they both are in the electronics department. My mother says that the irons that come in that don't work are usually the high end ones. It's sad but tons of people donate broken things and the Visiting Nurses have to pay for dumpsters to dispose of things that they can't sell - and the people get really irate when they tell them that they won't take certain things.... lots of stuff make it through that they find out later is broken or too damaged to sell. It is horrifying the amount of money they spend on dumpsters.... and yes, a lot of the stuff that is broken is donated to places that will fix them - like schools for vocational programs and whatnot...

Me Too B & D...just bought another at Walmart for 12.00...nice and light with teflon bottom. If you get heat bond on the sole just wait for it to get superhot and then iron it off onto a piece of discarded fabric...no problem.
I find that stainless steel will sometime melt fabric.
The more expensive irons are soooooo heavy....you want light

One feature I look for in an iron is it must be cordless. I had one that was great until I dropped it and cracked the casing and the water leaked. Now I have a Panasonic and am very happy with it.

My iron bit the dust last night (in the middle of ironing a piece of fabric might I add) I quickly ran to walmart and inspected all the "sample" irons they had. They were all HEAVY I am not interest in lifting weights, just ironing some fabric when need be. I ended up getting one like I had. A 6.64 Proctor Silex. The last one I had lasted awhile and probably would have lasted longer had it not been dropped off the ironing board and wall hanger so many times.

good luck choosing it is the hardest thing for me

My DH recently bought me a Reliable after my Rowenta (of 23 years) died. It cost too much, but it had lovely pressurized steam and a nice long cord---I really like it.

my black & decker works fine for me. no overheating and doesn't shut off automatically. it also has a long cord which has come in handy. I think I paid $15.00 for it about 5 years ago.

I have a cheapo Panasonic and love it! Got the expensive one and it didn't hold up. No more extra spending for me!

My small guild buys irons for everybody to use on sewing days. We have gone thru a whole bunch of irons in the cheap range and then moved up to the mid price range. So far the one everybody has liked the best is the Black and Decker Digital Advantage. I think it's full retail price is around $70 but you can get it a whole lot cheaper on Amazon.

Teflon coated irons don't get as hot as stainless steel irons to prevent the teflon from off gassing and killing birds.

I have a rowenta and the next one I get will be a B&D. My rowenta leaks and the cord will not retract anymore. It gets hot but I am disappointed in the quality. I got my mom one just like it and the steam quit and now she is on to some other kind.

go get a cheap one... every brand has lemons, can't count on a good iron, just because it's a brand name.

I have a Rowenta that I got for a gift two years ago. I really do love it, but it's HEAVY. I like a very hot iron, but one that's also light weight. So I'm going back to my good old Black & Decker when this one bites the dust. And I agree with the poster regarding steam irons. I use a water bottle, never put water IN my iron. Every time I have in the past, it seemed to hasten the irons demise.

I second the Proctor Silex. Great steam and sturdy.

I have an Oliso and love it. I only use sterile water in it. Florida water is death on everything too many minerals and Hard.

I am sitting here looking at my Iron. I just finished using it. I use it quite often!
I am happy to say Mine is a Black and Decker. I have had this iron since 1996 when I got it as a wedding present! So it is 15 yrs young and works as well as when I first got it.
It is a little banged up, it can definitly take a punch. Daughter is wanting to replace it which is why we came to your thread. The plastic is cracked from a few to many falls.
If she makes me replace it, I would probally go with another B&D

Thank you all! Quick question, do the B&D and the Proctor Silex inexpensive models work without steam too?
I can't find anything on line that says whether or not they will work either way.

Mine works with or without steam, there is a little button thing. I hardly ever use the stem option though.

I must have the same B&D iron that others have...a must have on it is the auto shut off which is a good safety feature for me

Which gave you money to add to the stash. I am always looking for ways to save money, so I can invest in materials.

I would suggest one that doesn't turn itself off in 30 seconds. Just about the time you get something folded under...beep, beep, beep and off!

I got a Sunbeam at our grocery store for $10.00. It is a steam/dry. it does turn off after about 20 minutes, but when that happens it heats up really fast and I am back to ironing again. This is probably the best one I have ever had. Oh, yah, I got it for 50% off. I am a % off kind of gal!!!!!!!!! I even got AsperCreme at Walgreen's yesterday for 25% off! Never buy anything unless it has a number and a per cent sign after it!!!! Edie

I had an Oreck cordless and it never seemed to get hot enough. I gave it to my brother and he loves it...been abour 5 years now so it much be a good iron (for him!)

I have been thru 3 Rowentas. They always start leaking on me.

I actually keep 2 irons going...the Rowenta for steaming and a $10 non-brand travel iron for dry ironing. I also found a Sunbeam on sale for $5.00 which I use for other types of crafts so in case it gets ruined, I won't cry. :(

My best iron is the one my son had in college 30+ yrs. ago. Think it will be going out of the house soon though. The cord is wearing so that will have to ditch it for safety sake. One of those cords built into the iron and cannot be replaced. Imagine he gave very little for it at that time.

I have a rowenta and love it, but also have the black and decker which is a real good iron. I'd go for the B&D iron. To many people have bad luck with the rowenta iron.

I have a "cheap" black and decker iron and it works well for me.

I love my Rowenta

Harriet Hargrave recommends the Reliable Digital Velocity iron. It might be my next one. I have several irons including a Rowenta (back up) and an old Bernina that just won't die. I have had the Bernina for 18 years and used it almost daily. I like my irons to have good sharp points and not rounded on the edges with a weighty feel and extra hot. I have tried those little mini irons and don't like them. Am I alone on this opinion?

I have owned 2 Rowentas. Both leaked, and would not heat up after the auto shut off was activated. I would have to unplug the iron and plug it back in. I would buy a cheap B&D or Proctor Silex. In my experience expensive irons are not worth the investment.

Hi, I have a Rowenta and it works OK, but does leak and sputter which is annoying. I just rec'd the latest Quiltmaker magazine and there's a new iron for quilters on page 10. It says 'no spitting' and guaranteed not to leak.

It's called the Velocity V50 and is supposedly designed for either right or left handers. This caught my eye because I am leftie. I have no idea where we can see or test them but, the website listed is reliablecorporation.com and advertised price is $99.

Although I am not rushing out to purchase one, I am in the market for another iron to have down at my farm house. I keep dreaming of the day when I'll have free time to sew down there. Let me know if you find a good deal on irons.... I am not a purist and just want something that works reliably at an affordable price.

I have a Rowenta I purchased from JoAnns. I have no complaints with this iron. My last Rowenta lasted 11 years.

I agree with info about the Rowetna, plus it leaks water, paid a lot for it too, never happy with it...got a much cheaper Procter Silex, works great at a fraction of the investment!

Yes that's the one I have. It's a great iron---but you will build up some shoulder muscles using it.

I tested it at the local Pfaff dealership.

i have a Rownenta but wanted another iron for all the starch that is needed for quilting. Read on this site about the old Black and Decker. I had to order it from Walmart online. Love it. I only use this iron for everything.

I've been through several irons myself. So I decided to buy a cheapo with a stainless steel bottom and I found a Panasonic that fit the bill. I have never put water in it (a bottle of Best Press on my ironing board). It stays hot and its just the right weight, like "ijustwannaquilt" I'm not interested in lifting weights!

I can recommend that you do not get a teflon coated plate. They just do not clean up well if you get some fusible or starch build up. Look for a good Stainless Steel sole plate.[/quote]

I agree. I have a teflon coated one and I can't get all the starch off without damaging the soleplate. The stainless steel ones I can clean easily with an SOS pad.