I'm actually a carpenter, and I'm always searching for ways to be less wasteful. The way I see it, the tree I'm using spent 150-300 years growing just for me to use it. Anyway, this video inspired me to make tailors hams with my saw dust. Even if they don't sell, I'm happy knowing it's not in a landfill or in my burn pit.

The Internet gets a lot of flack relating to the dumbing down of culture but videos like this (and channels like this) are a wonderful balance to that, taking things that were fading away or becoming lost and kicking them right back into the light. It's uplifting to watch a younger generation of adults attaining mastery of things worth keeping.

I like that she stresses that the heat and moisture are only the first part of the process and it isn't really complete until it is cooled in the proper shape. That is something I think I have been missing and will need be mindful of in the future. Thank you both for the useful information, and I hope to see you together in more videos!

I am constantly finding examples of how much more useful instructions are when they tell you WHY you’re supposed to do something. I always thought “well, as soon as it gets washed, it’ll go right back how it was, so there’s no point ironing seams as I sew!” I never would have guessed that pressing actually alters the fibers and creates a lasting effect.
If only Vogue had mentioned that on patterns rather than just saying “Press.” I was self-taught and none of the sewing books I read ever explained that.
I made a lot of mediocre garments; maybe it wasn’t lack of talent but just lack of following directions lol.

You think to yourself, (not in a arrogant way): "I'm pretty sure I know this". Then you see a pro do the thing and you think to yourself: "Wow...I'm not operating on that level and had NO IDEA how important this is or how to do it properly". That's the difference between knowledge, competency, and then mastery. THANK YOU BOTH for doing this video!!

I remember my dad telling me that pressing was mandatory. He honestly could have been a tailor. He taught me how to sew, how to repair and mend old clothes and make them look brand new. I would make things like pencil cases, cushions, head bands and dresses. He taught me how to iron EVERYTHING. He would watch me carefully to make sure I didn't mess it up or burn myself. (I burnt myswlf plenty of times trying to iron and got a iron mark on my leg to this day) He always encouraged my creative side and critiqued me when he saw a mistake.

One of my favourite things about my dad is he would wake me up as a kid at 6am, he would make me some cereal or porridge. We would sit, eat and watch cartoons til 7am while he showed me how to iron my school skirts, shirts, blazer, jumper, vest etc. Some days he would do all the ironing before I was awake so we could watch cartoon longer. Then afterwards he would do my hair into 4 twists and we would leave for 8am. Normally letting me go to the sweet shop and cafe to get some snacks as well before dropping me off.

As an adult now i want to pass down all the lessons and knowledge my dad taught me to my future kids. They'll never know him but he will always live through me. I think that's quite special to think about. I miss him a lot.

My dressmaking teacher at university referred to that first press of the seam as-sewn as "marrying the fibres" of the cloth and thread, and it's always stuck with me. Sewing the seam brings them together, but it's not until they've been through heat and pressure together that they are truly "one", each indented into the other and ready to work together. It's kind of sentimental and old-fashioned, but it was memorable enough to make sure I always remember to do it!

My great grandmother was a seamstress in Sicily (ladies gowns) and did piecework in Brooklyn, and she taught my mom (who taught me) that pressing was NOT optional.
I was taught to iron the pattern and the whole fabric separately, then iron the pieces after they were cut, and then each seam as it's sewn...

I appreciate that she provided alternatives for people who don’t have a professional steam iron or specific ironing tools. This was a very informative video. Thank you.

One year I got a present sent to me by my now late father in law. The note on it said "refrigerate until Christmas" which I did. It was in the shape of a canned ham, so that's what I thought it was. Christmas day, I opened the package to find a dressmakers ham. I still have it and smile when I use it. He loved playing pranks, but that one was priceless.

Ironing and pressing really is an art in itself. My grandmother once told me how she got a fabric professionally pleated for a skirt, hated how they did it, undid the pleats, and permanently pleated it herself using only household items. That skirt is still pleated today 😂

I bought a new wardrobe when I moved to Portugal and I was looking for information on how to properly iron stuff. I can't wait to show my wife how good I am after I practice all of these.

Thank you both!  I have a saying, there are three things that make the difference between an acceptable garment, and an exceptional garment - measuring with precision, stitching with patience, and pressing every stitch that you sew.  It is a pleasure to see that I am not alone in the commitment to pressing (and cooling) every seam as I sew it!  I will most certainly head over to Royal Black, to find more shenanigans.

I'm getting flashbacks to bootcamp as I watch this, which is where a lot of military recruits get their first taste of what it takes to keep a military uniform presentable.  I recall how we'd take turns every night, getting up in 20-minute shifts to use one of the two irons assigned to my division.  Not everyone did, of course, and the difference was obvious: usually, a couple of rounds of extra-special attention to the floor tiles (pushups) was enough to get them to get with the program.  I hated the blue camouflage uniforms, because no matter how much steam you used or how long you set the iron to it, the fabric was absolutely recalcitrant: there was just no getting the strip that forms the top of the pockets to lay down flat over the pockets.  It was probably better than having to iron the 5 creases into the dungaree shirts in the dark (three in the back and one down each sleeve), but it was still such a pain.  These days, sewing is the ONLY reason this vet drags out an iron, and I learned more about ironing correctly from this video than from 6 years in, 10 years after, and all the years before combined.  Thank you!

Absolutely fascinating! Barbara has achieved the impossible and made ironing look attractive and appealing. I'm now looking forward to taking my future garments to the next level. Thanks Bernadette and Barbara.

I've been a quilter for 35 years. Pressing is such an important part of what I do and I just realized I've been DOING IT ALL WRONG! Thank you for this. My work is going to be so much better now. I can't wait to incorporate these techniques!

My mother irons all of her clothes, whereas I just pull things from the dryer and wear them. Of course, even at 80 years old, she looks beautiful and I always notice what a nice outfit she is wearing. What a difference ironing in general makes.
I plan to give my mother one of these tools as a gift!

This woman is so elegant, seemingly without effort. It’s such a pleasure to learn from her.

"...pressing is where the real magic happens." The same thing happens with knitting its final step: blocking. You wet the item, then stretch the whole thing out on a mat and secure it in place with lots of pins. it stretched out the stitches so they're all evenly spaced. It's really important for items with lacework. If you don't block lacework, it looks completely different!

0:53, I remembered the ancient say in turkish "terzinin işi kötü, ayıbını örten ütü" roughly meaning "the tailor's work is bad, the ironing covers it up"