The Art of Ironing

Do you have an iron in the house? Do you use it?

Ironing is becoming a lost art. With all the modern fabrics, most garments no longer need pressed if they are washed and dried properly. I've also noticed that standards have changed and it is not always improper to wear something wrinkled! Oh dear!

I have many wonderful memories which involved ironing. I can remember a toy iron that really worked when plugged into a wall. It would become slightly warm and my sister and I would iron doll clothes and hankies on a toy ironing board. Such a toy would be considered a danger to a child these days, after all, it required the ability to plug something into an outlet! But, we used it safely and it provided us with many moments of make-believe fun. As they say, play is a child's work. Some of my first memories of grown-up ironing when I was about ten or twelve years old. A family friend had a baby daughter who had the cutest of clothes! I remember ironing her little dresses "just for fun". As I grew older, ironing became the chore that allowed us to watch television. Being a productive family, it was expected that we be busy working on something if the television was on. I remember ironing many pillow cases and my dad's shirts while watching the Patty Duke Show, Gilligan's Island, The Beverly Hillbillies, or The Lucy Show. Do you remember them?

These days my iron is used for touching up garments when getting dressed up. A suit, skirt, or shirt sometimes needs a little crispness added. But, it's used most frequently for pressing fabrics when sewing a quilt or other sewing projects. Times change, but memories remain. Sometimes it is good when household objects become obsolete, as it signals an improvement and new technology. But, when such objects become obsolete, there is something that is left behind. My children do not have the pleasant memories of ironing that I did as a child. I believe that it's their loss.