How to Iron

How to Iron Shirt and Pants: To give your clothes that professional laundered look, teach yourself an ironing routine that will leave them looking crisp and sharp. Shirts:

1. Read the care label to get the correct ironing temperature.

2. Iron the shirt while it is still a little damp. It is very difficult to remove creases from garments that are bone dry.

3. Iron the back of the collar first, followed by the front, working in from the edges. Hold the material taut as you iron to prevent puckering. 4. Open the cuffs and iron them, working in from the edges. Press the inside first, then the outside. Do not make a crease.

5. Smooth the sleeves flat to avoid creases and iron, once with the seams parallel, and again with one seam on top of the other.

6. Place the shirt face-down on the ironing board and iron from the shoulders to the shirttail. 7. Iron the right front panel, pulling it tight along the bottom line as you press in between the buttons. Then turn it and iron the back, and finally the left front panel.

8. Place the shirt on a hanger (not wire), do up a few top buttons, and allow it to cool down. Do not wear immediately, or it will quickly become creased again. Pants 1. Turn your pants inside out and iron the pockets, waistband, flies, seams, and hems. Turn them right side out again. The top of the pants will now be easier to iron.

2. Pull the waistband over the top of the board and iron the upper part of the pants, starting on one side and turning them.

3. Lay the pants along the length of the ironing board with legs and all four seams lined up. Smooth out creases by hand, then lift the top leg and fold it back to expose the bottom inside leg. Iron this from hem to crotch and along the existing crease.

4. Turn the pants over, fold over the top leg, and iron the inside of the other leg.

5. Place both legs together and iron the upper outside leg, then turn over and iron the second outside leg. 6. Hang the pants up immediately and allow them to cool before wearing.