Updated: 13/11/2020

Best Way to Iron a Shirt

Anyone can buy clothing like pants, shirts, ties, socks, and shoes. However, you look impressive only when you know how to wear and carry these clothes. While you may feel some fabrics look good on you, the fact remains that aftercare and proper maintenance of all garments are necessary for them to last long and look good. 

Wrinkled clothes tend to look unkempt and untidy. They also give off the look of a person who does not care about personal appearance and grooming. Most people stepping out of their homes take care to ensure that they look presentable and decent. One way of ensuring you do not look sloppy is to ensure your clothes are clean, smell good, and are ironed. People who do not iron their clothes and take time to maintain are often taken for granted and are not taken seriously. 

Benefits of Ironing a Shirt: If you want to be considered well-dressed, you should know how to iron your clothes, especially your shirts. Scruffy and wrinkled shirts are an eyesore to people looking at you and those that converse with you. 

• Long-lasting: Ironing the shirt before you wear it strengthens the fabric and makes the shirt last longer. It also looks neat and tidy throughout the day. Shirts that are washed dried and ironed last longer than those that are not, simply because the heat from the iron loosens the chemical bonds in the fabric and makes it last longer. 

• Money-Saving: Formal shirts are expensive. While it is tempting to keep them washed and dried without ironing, you should avoid doing so. Dry cleaning formal shirts cost a lot of money (apart from the price of the shirt), and can add significantly to your monthly budget. Instead, ironing the shirt and maintaining it well helps save money in the long term, while preserving the fabric and looking good.

• You control the shirt: Most people prefer a crisp, well-ironed shirt for daily wear and a sleekly ironed shirt for special occasions. By using a steam generator iron for your clothes, you control the outcome of the heat, crease lines, depth, and fabric before stepping out.

What would you need to Iron the Shirt?

There are a few things you should always have with you in anticipation of ironing your clothes. 

• Ironing board
• Steam iron
• Electrical outlet
• A small piece of fabric like a napkin or thin towel
• Distilled water 

Keep these things handy when starting your ironing to get the perfect ironed shirt for your unique needs. 

How to Iron a Shirt?

The shirt (for males and females) is made of different parts. The collar, cuffs, sleeves, back, shoulder, front and plackets, and pockets (optional). The ironing of a shirt is a step by step process.

Step 1 – The Back of the Collar

Always start from the back of the collar. Open the collar completely, adjust the steam iron to the fabric setting of the shirt, place the small fabric piece or towel on the collar, and firmly press the heated iron to ease the creases. Start from the edges and iron towards the middle to maintain uniformity. 

Step 2 – The Cuffs

Start ironing the inside of the cuffs and then turning the cuffs over to the outside. Like the collar, start from the outer edge and move to the middle of the cuff for evenness. Cuffs usually have buttons, so iron around the buttons, without placing the iron on them.

Step 3 – Sleeves

Iron inwards from the cuffs to the shoulders to get even ironing all the way through. Flip the shirt and do the other side of the sleeves. 

Step 4 – The Back

If your shirt has back pleats, start below the creases and build-up towards the rest of the shirt. This protects the shape of the pleats while giving you a crisp well-ironed shirt back. Keep repositioning the shirt as needed to ensure the edges are also done well.

Step 5 – Shoulders

Adjust the ironing board, so the narrow end is firmly tucked between the shoulders and iron from the collar to the sleeves. Flip the shirt (if needed), and repeat the step on the other side. 

Step 6 – Front and Placket

Be extra cautious when ironing the placket to avoid all the buttons. Damaging the buttons may also cause the threads to come apart. Start ironing from the shoulders down one side, and then repeat on the other. 

Step 7 – Front Collar

Repeat step 1 for the collar from the inside, and fold down for a crisp well-ironed shirt. Always remember to start from the edges and gradually move to the middle.