The creases on trousers are a special detail that shows a person cares about their appearance. Men’s pants in most cases are sold with the creases already outlined, but after the first wash, those perfectly straight lines disappear. Which brings up the question – how does one iron creases into trousers, and restore your pants’ original symmetry? In this article, we will reveal all the secrets of the proper ironing of trousers, the things you should pay special attention to, and how to make beautiful straight creases on the trousers.
5 things to check before ironing your pants
It seems that it is quite easy – turn on your iron and get going ironing the creases, and whatever else your heart desires. But in reality, it often turns out that everything is not that simple. Any item of clothing pulled out of the wardrobe must be properly prepared for ironing, otherwise, you can easily ruin the clothes. So, before you iron the pants, make a mental checklist of these 5 simple points to avoid ironing disasters.
1. Cleanliness
It’s advised to only subject clothes to high temperatures if they are clean. If there are any stains, sweat, or any other contamination on the trousers, the dirt particles will absorb deeper into the fabric when heated and will become nearly impossible to get rid of at home. Therefore, please do not be lazy to clean or wash the item before ironing.
2. Fabric content and perfect iron temperature
The temperature setting you choose for ironing depends on what kind of fabric your pants are made of. Wool and nylon are ironed at completely different temperatures. There is another rule you should remember – if you don’t know what you’re doing and set the temperature too high when ironing silk pants, you risk leaving a scorch mark. Manufacturers attach a fabric care label to each product, it will tell you how many dots you should set your iron’s dial on to iron the pants properly.
3. Damping cloth
We are talking about a small piece of wet fabric that you can use to iron creases into men’s trousers.
Do not allow direct contact between the hot surface of the iron and your trousers. To iron the pants better, we suggest doing it through another piece of fabric, preferably gauze.
To avoid accidental staining of trousers, prepare a white damping cloth.
4. Inside out.
Speaking of how to iron pants, this piece of advice is the most important of the bunch. Before ironing, the pants should be turned inside out. That way you can avoid getting off a glossy sheen on the surface of the fabric, which can occur when the fabric gets in contact with a very hot iron.
The turning things inside our principle work for ironing not only trousers but all clothing in general.
5. Spray Bottle
Dampened fabric is easier to smooth. It is great, if you have a clothes steamer at home, or if your iron has a built-in steamer. Otherwise, a regular bottle with a spray cap will help you quickly moisten the fabric.
Iron creases into trousers: step-by-step instructions
Please prepare the pants by making sure that they are clean and turned inside out, so we can begin the ironing process:
- put the pants on a flat surface. Ideally, this is an ironing board, but in its absence, you can iron them on a regular table, covering it with a thick blanket beforehand;
- start to iron the pants from top to bottom: waistband, pockets, lining, then pant legs along the entire length. Flip them over and do the same thing on the other side;
- turn out the trouser legs so the outside is facing out. Using your wet gauze, lightly steam trousers with an iron;
- making creases. Hang the pants belt down. Fold both pants legs carefully and correctly, so that the side seams line up with the inner seams. You will have 2 folds – these are the future creases on the trousers. To prevent them from sliding even a millimeter when Ironing, you can secure them with sewing pins or needles;
- dampen your gauze, put it on top of the trouser legs, and iron in the creases. For best effect, add 1 tbsp vinegar to the spraying water. Do not mind the smell – it will disappear almost instantly. Vinegar will make the creases last longer. Also, for more long-lasting creases, you can rub them from the inside with a slightly damp bar of soap with a sharp edge. Then iron the creases two times on the front side;
After ironing, let the pants dry completely after being exposed to wet steam, and let the fabric cool down. After that, gently hang on a hanger in the closet.
Please wait about 5-7 minutes after ironing men’s pants to wear them, since freshly ironed pants are very easy to wrinkle.
Practice this a few times– and you will become a real pro at ironing creases into trousers. As you can see, everything is easy to perform, and even if the first time your ironing will not be perfect, after a time creating straight creases will become almost natural. Your efforts will be rewarded with a flawless appearance. Just get to it, and everything will turn out splendidly!