A wrinkled shirt can ruin your look, turning you from handsome to sloppy in an instant. You want to leave only a good impression, and therefore, when you know how to iron a shirt properly, you have nothing to worry about.
Step 1. Read the label on the shirt
The first thing you should do is read the care label on the shirt to find ironing instructions. Before you properly iron a shirt, first sort the shirts by material: linen, cotton, synthetic, etc. The material your shirt is made of is usually indicated on the label. Adjust the iron options depending on which materials require higher temperatures or more intensive ironing.
Step 2: Preparing for ironing
When you are ready to start smoothing out the wrinkles, pull out the ironing board (or find a suitable flat surface) and turn on the iron. Make sure there is water in the iron, and that you have set up an outlet next to a place where you can hang the shirts.
Step 3: Moisten the shirt
Using a spray bottle, spray, or the spray function of the iron, generously spray water on the shirt. How much to moisten depends on how quickly you want to put on the shirt after ironing it – but the wetter it is, the easier it will be to smooth out the folds.
Step 4: Preparing the shirt
Unbutton all the buttons, including the ones on the cuffs, lay the whole shirt on the ironing board, and then follow this very important order to iron the shirt quickly and thoroughly.
Step 5: Ironing
When it is finally time to iron, you need to keep the iron moving constantly so as not to burn anything, while smoothing out the folds and avoiding the appearance of new ones. Lightly pull the shirt, but not too much, because you will create new folds. This really comes with practice.
But follow this order, and you will quickly find yourself on the way to a freshly ironed shirt:
- Collar: Open it up and don’t forget to iron it on both sides, starting from the sides and moving towards the middle. Fold, secure the fold and run the iron over it again to keep it firm.
- Cuffs: Like the collar, unbutton them and iron them from the inside first to get rid of the folds. Again, start this from the sides and move towards the middle.
- Yoke: This is the top part of the back and shoulders. Starting from one side, iron from the inside, then turn the shirt on the board and iron from the front side.
- Back: Now iron the rest of the back of the shirt, moistening the shirt again to remove stubborn folds.
- Front: First, iron the placket (where the buttons and buttonholes are), pulling on the edge of the shirt to make it easier to work. Use the pointed end of the iron to get between the buttons. Then iron the rest of the front of the shirt.
- Sleeves: Making sure that the fold is on the seam, iron both sides of the sleeve, gently pulling on one edge to make sure they are taut and aligned.
Step 6: Hang up the shirt and check your work
The last but not least important step is to hang up the shirt immediately. This is especially important if the shirt is still a little damp. Be sure to check your work and make sure you haven’t missed any wrinkled spots.