When it comes to sewing our own garments, the first thing we tend to think about is the stitches. But almost equally important is pressing. Pressing your fabric as you sew gives you a better garment in the end and in today’s video, I’m sharing a few tools that will make pressing easier and give you a better result.
I’m not one to say you need a ton of tools to start sewing. I actually did a video a few weeks ago where I share the six tools that actually need. But, if you are committed to sewing and want to make it a continued part of your life, then there are some tools that can help you create better garments.
Tools for better pressing when sewing garments
I know this one seems pretty obvious and you probably already have an iron at home. But I do want to say that there is a wide variety of irons on the market and some will perform better than others. It’s important to look for one that has a variety of heat and steam settings and for safety, I also like to have an iron that will turn off automatically when not in use.
I didn’t really go into detail on this in the video because most ironing boards available these days are pretty similar. But you will need one of these babies and if you’re looking to really deck it out, you might want to upgrade your ironing board cover and pad.
A sleeve board is essentially a mini ironing board. It will help you access narrow pant legs and sleeves with ease.
A press cloth is a piece of fabric that goes in between your garment and your iron. It will help prevent your fabric from getting damaged by the iron.
A tailor’s ham is essentially a pillow that you use instead of your ironing board. It’s useful when pressing curved seams and darts. You can even make your own tailor’s hams using fabric scraps.
A basic clapper is just a simple piece of wood. The one I have in the video also has a point turner on the top. This tool is used to hold heat and steam in a fabric without continuing to add more heat from an iron. To use it, you press your fabric, remove the iron and replace it with the clapper. Hold the clapper in place and it will continue to press the fabric without the risk of damage that could come from prolonged use of the iron.
I got this tool a few years ago and I was really surprised how much I use it. It’s a piece of metal with a bunch of measurements. You just fold your hem over the metal to the desired measurement and press. It makes getting an evenly folded hem much easier.
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These are the pressing tools that I use on almost every project I make. Seriously, a week does not go by that I don’t use one of these tools. Most of them are pretty affordable but if you’re looking to save money, you can also make your own substitutes. You can sew your own tailors hams using muslin and fabric scraps. If you don’t have a sleeve board, you can use a rolled up towel. And if you don’t have a clapper, you can try using a clean scrap of wood. You could even make your own EZY HEM with a piece of tag board. It won’t last as long over time but it will work in a pinch.
If you’d like to add to your arsenal of sewing tools, check out the links below for my favorite picks. Happy sewing!
