Ironing rayon/gabardine shirts?

[repeatclicks]

I just received a rather wrinkled 50s loop collar in the mail and the color, I have to say, is one of the best burgundy/wine colors Ive ever seen.

I want to make sure the shirt isnt damaged when I iron it. I know that ironing on high heat with rayon is a big no no and it can also cause shine to appear on the fabric.

Whats the best way to get this shirt wrinkle free without damaging it?

 

[repeatclicks]

Nevermind, found that steam works a charm.

 

[jamespowers]

Nevermind, found that steam works a charm.

So do the local dry cleaners.

 

[dhermann1]

Placing a damp cloth over the material you want to iron is also a useful technique. It gives you the steam, and insulates the material from scorching. I'd experiment on a fairly durable material just to get the hang of it, tho.

 

[repeatclicks]

So do the local dry cleaners.

Hey, I live in the land of the credit crunch! Besides, I need to find a new dry cleaners as the one we were going to...er....I dont think they were cleaning the clothes.

 

[jamespowers]

Hey, I live in the land of the credit crunch! Besides, I need to find a new dry cleaners as the one we were going to...er....I dont think they were cleaning the clothes.

My dry cleaners charges about a buck to clean and press a shirt. If you can find a similar cleaners there that actually clean the shirts then it is worth it.
I wouldn't clean and iron a shirt for a buck---even if I knew how in the first place.

 

[dhermann1]

Actually ironing a shirt is a snap. I'm pretty sure there's something posted here that explains it (actually, I might have written it myself). I used to have a very nice Sunday evening ritual of ironing dress shirts for the week.

 

[repeatclicks]

A buck eh? Well that all depends on where you reside my friend... Over here, it'll cost you $1.60, or a Quid, or more likely four quid because its London.


Annnnyway, I just wanted to make sure I didnt put a hot iron on rayon, unless of course I wanted it to look shiny, which I didnt. In the end, I was successful with my iron, and the shirt is now wrinkle free and non shiny.

 

[repeatclicks]

Placing a damp cloth over the material you want to iron is also a useful technique. It gives you the steam, and insulates the material from scorching. I'd experiment on a fairly durable material just to get the hang of it, tho.

Thanks, I read this somewhere online too. Im used to ironing cotton shirts, but I wanted to be careful with rayon as I know its touchy.

 

[jamespowers]

Actually ironing a shirt is a snap. I'm pretty sure there's something posted here that explains it (actually, I might have written it myself). I used to have a very nice Sunday evening ritual of ironing dress shirts for the week.

I have a ritual of picking up my clean heavy starch shirts from the dry cleaner on fridays.

 

[jamespowers]

A buck eh? Well that all depends on where you reside my friend... Over here, it'll cost you $1.60, or a Quid, or more likely four quid because its London.


Annnnyway, I just wanted to make sure I didnt put a hot iron on rayon, unless of course I wanted it to look shiny, which I didnt. In the end, I was successful with my iron, and the shirt is now wrinkle free and non shiny.

Four Quid!? Geez! Waaaayyy too much.
Any pictures of the completed project? Loop colar shirts are cool enough to see just because they are loop colar shirts.

 

[repeatclicks]

Yep, here it is. Its not perfectly ironed out yet, but boy Im glad I threw a bid on this one! Wrong description (said it was 60s), horrible photo and full of wrinkles...

Before:

After!

You just dont see a color like this one come up often, and in such great nick! Just needs the Penneys tag sewn back on properly. Has a nice super subtle purple to it in the sun. Cant describe it!

 

[jamespowers]

Man! What a difference! You did a great job on it.
Reminds me of several my father used to wear. Too bad my mother cleared out his closet before I got a chance to save a few things after he passed on. :eusa_doh:
Love those shirts! :eusa_clap

 

[YETI]

They just don't make rayon/wool gabardine like they used to. I was wondering if it's because of that Dupont factory burning down. Or was it a family mansion that kept the formula that burned. Aloha shirts were never the same after that. And even the Sun Surf ones from Japan can't compare to vintage.
nice shirt, btw

 

[dhermann1]

I have a ritual of picking up my clean heavy starch shirts from the dry cleaner on fridays.

Yeah, me too, nowadays.

 

[jamespowers]

Yeah, me too, nowadays.

lol lol lol lol
I do have to mention that I did experiment with washing a really heavily stained Palm Beach double breasted jacket with moderately good results. However the dry cleaner will eventually get to clean and press it in the end.

 

[dhermann1]

The thing about stains and dry cleaning is that sometimes the dry cleaner permanantly fuses the stain in, rather than getting it out.

 

[Guttersnipe]

They just don't make rayon/wool gabardine like they used to. I was wondering if it's because of that Dupont factory burning down. Or was it a family mansion that kept the formula that burned. Aloha shirts were never the same after that. And even the Sun Surf ones from Japan can't compare to vintage.
nice shirt, btw

I disagree about the Sun Surf shirts. I own originals of a couple of designs they've reproduced, and when I've compared the my originals to Sun Surf's repops, my impression has been "this is what my shirt likely felt like 60 years ago" or "this repop will likely feel like my original when it gets some decades on it."

Oh, yeah - don't iron rayon gabardine. You can, but steam does the trick on them so well, and is so much safer for the garment...

 

[jamespowers]

The thing about stains and dry cleaning is that sometimes the dry cleaner permanantly fuses the stain in, rather than getting it out.

Oh, they won't get the jacket until I have got the stains out. I'll still have them dry clean it but I want it fairly clean first.
My first soak and wash did fairly well. It dimished and faded the stain but another soak and wash should do the trick pretty well.

 

[Feraud]

Oh, they won't get the jacket until I have got the stains out. I'll still have them dry clean it but I want it fairly clean first.
My first soak and wash did fairly well. It dimished and faded the stain but another soak and wash should do the trick pretty well.

Can I ask what you used on that Palm Beach jacket or is it a trade secret?