This is the first scroll in the linen project and I decided that it was too long given the size of the dyed pieces section.
Here I folded some back at the top and bottom and decided I liked this proportion better. So I was all excited to cut off the extra and have a beautiful finished piece instead of a first draft. I cut off the piece and finished the top and bottom and was all ready for the beautiful ironing part.
I practiced some on the cutoff piece with my wonderful wrinkle releaser and decided to go to the main piece. On the main piece some blotches appeared where the releaser was and they didn’t iron out! Oh dear.
So I decided to spray on my fingers and pat an area that had a wrinkle for a more gentle approach. If you look carefully, you can see my palm and fingers on the cloth! I knew that wouldn’t do but also knew that it would wash out. So I soaked it in a basin of warm water with some Dawn liquid detergent and sloshed it up and down, wrinsed it, and hung it to dry. Beautiful. Now I’m at square one again! I am thinking that I’ll just dampen it with plain water and iron it like the olden days. But I should make some more trials on my practice piece probably first. The issue is that the cloth is double–can I get both the front and back ironed nice. Or, must I take out the seam and start over but be very careful not to manhandle the cloth and get more wrinkles when I redo the seam and finish the ends. Any advice or thoughts are welcome. I’m letting the project marinate for a few days, but a bit sad that the oomph I had last week has died down a bit.
Hate delays like this! Is steaming an option? It looks like the fabric is too heavy for it to be effective. Maybe a wet press cloth? otherwise it sounds as if you are on the right track.
What is the surface you pressed it on? hard or soft? Are you worried about shine or seam marks on the surface or just the wrinkles? If the wrinkles see if yo can borrow a steamer from someone in the building.
Usually the best result is from ironing while it is still damp from washing rather than letting it dry and then trying to get it evenly damp again. If you’re concerned about shine, just use a pressing cloth between iron and fabric.
Linen does better in all respects when it is damp. With that in mind, you might do what my mom used to do with her ironing. She would sprinkle water (spray here) on the fabric and then roll it in a towel and let it sit overnight. The water would even out so that all the fabric was uniformly damp. Then she would iron it. You could use a press cloth between the iron and the linen. I don’t remember what the fabric content of the small pieces are, but pressing them with a press cloth (dry or damp) might help as well. And when you have finished putting it all together, press again. I hope this helps or gives you ideas!