Mary Ellen Pinkham explains how to neatly press a shirt.
One thing to remember before beginning to iron is to always start with the smallest sections of the garment first, then move on to the larger sections. The reason for this is that collars, cuffs and pockets will wrinkle less as the rest of the garment is ironed.
Unbutton the collar and start ironing the reverse side of the collar first, followed by the sleeves, back and finally the front of the shirt.
When ironing several shirts, dampen them first by spritzing with distilled water. Do not use tap water because this may cause water stains. Fold the sleeves in and tightly roll the shirts up and set aside for about 15 minutes.
Pull the shirt over the pointed end of the ironing board to iron the yoke, or the upper part of the sleeve. Iron in a back-and-forth motion only, never in a circular pattern, which can damage the fabric.
Ironing the seams may be difficult, but they are the most important areas to iron for appearance reasons. Iron one side of the sleeve, then turn and iron the opposite side. The sleeves will then have creases. One way to iron out a few pesky creases is to stuff the sleeves with a rolled-up towel after ironing them and gently pressing out the creases.
Next iron the back of the shirt, and finally the front. Be sure not to run the iron over the buttons. Carefully iron between the buttons.
Use a bit of spray starch for any natural fabrics, or use sizing for polyester and other synthetic fabrics.
Turn on the radio for a little background music while ironing.
When ironing the collar and cuffs, begin at the outer edges and move inward.
