Quiltingboard Forums - To steam or not to steam?

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I use a dry iron, but have spray bottles of water, Best Press, and a 50/50 mix of both. It depends on what I am doing.
The 50/50 I use mainly on my LA. One of my LA teachers recommended the 50/50 to get wrinkles out of the backing once it's loaded rather than ironing it beforehand. It works great, especially since I make big quilts and pressing that much backing gets tiring. :)

steam is great as long as you press down and don't move the iron sideways.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ILoveToQuilt (Post 6614966)

I guess I am in the minority. Dry iron only...water can rot out the insides of the iron (that's why they leak often) especially if you use tap water or highly mineralized water (learned this from a long time tailor). I don't use starch because starch can attract bugs (moths and carpet beetles) which can damage fabrics on stored quilts. (If you wash the quilt when it is finished, you do remove the starch, but then how do you get the crisp look back without starch?) This is just my opinion...

Anita

Hi Anita I'm with you. I have a flat-iron which has no holes for water, just a nice shiny flat surface which heats up evenly and 'helps' the fabric find its way rather than controlling it.
Now, maybe someday I'll be able to do something somewhat close to what you have accomplished in your stunning avatar :)

Love steam! I just really feel like I'm doing something with it.