Hi All, I've been looking into garment steamers to invest in for my vintage items, to get them tidy before listing, and bought one of the Fridja models after some research.. which arrived today much to my excitement. It was recommended by clothing boutiques and designers, and is apparently used at London Fashion Week, so I was looking forward to amazing crease-busting results! .. Haven't had many so far! I've read some reviews that say it takes a little practice, and I must say I'm picking it up more now, but can anyone offer any advice particular to vintage pieces? Do they require more of an industrial level steamer, and are there any fab makes (UK-available) that I should make a note of? Thanks guys, Ava
I started a thread a couple of years ago on this subject, which you may wish to read: http://forums.vintagefashionguild.org/threads/advice-on-buying-a-steamer.29109/#post-274096 I ended up buying a 2nd hand ProPress, which I can certainly recommend. Propress are an industrial/commercial UK brand. I had to scour ebay for some time before getting one at a reasonable price. I'm still considering buying a handheld steamer in addition, so I can take it with me to fairs, and would be glad to hear of any recommendations for UK brands.
Hi Ava, I own a Jiffy J-2000 steamer, made in the USA, and it was a great investment, though I only paid about $100.00 for it through Cost Co at the time. I have not had trouble getting creases out of most fabrics but sometimes steam, let sit and hand and re-steam if some wrinkles are stubborn. It could depend on how hot and how much steam is coming out of your steamer and I am not familiar with that one. I didn't need much practice but I do tend to steam from the inside and pull the wand down and out as I go. I steam a lot of nylon chiffon nighties that way after washing to get them smooth. Also, do not steam vintage rayon or you will shrink the daylights out of the garment. Oops, just noticed you are not in the US? Julia This is mine; http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=jiffy j-2000 steamer&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=vc0&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=imvns&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1799&bih=851&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=2238071229506827729&sa=X&ei=aJNXT8fbE8baiQKJz_ioCw&ved=0CGYQ8gIwAA
Hey guys, Thanks for your input, I'm getting the hang of it now and would recommend the model- Fridja F-1000 .. It starts up in about 30 seconds and is really easy to use once you perfect the 'coaxing' motion! It was just over £100 so £20 over budget, I could have got one 2nd hand for something like £85 on ebay but knowing my luck with electronics I thought I'd purchase direct and get the warranty.. can also use it in my hat making so wasn't so fussed about the over spend. Ruth, I was thinking the same thing about a hand-held, I've seen the E8 Professional Steamer around a bit and was going to check that out- I think it's about £40-45 though so I'm waiting for ebay to come to the rescue..! Julia, I did not know that about rayon, that's such a pain! Thanks so much for the warning, do you just tackle rayon with the iron? I like how the instructions say only to fill with water, what else would we think of putting in there? Yogurt?
Hi, Yes, dry iron with a cloth over top or you will burn that shine into the fabric. Now modern rayon is not a problem. I should have been more specific, it's vintage rayon crepe that I have had issue with. I think the combination of super hot and steam/water is just a recipe for disaster with this old rayon.
In my experience - never get a vintage rayon or rayon crepe wet or even damp... they start to shrink. Karin
Karin, how would you recommend treating creased crepe? I have a number of CC41 garments I would really like to improve, can it be ironed?
No idea - to be honest, I don't dare ironing them either. Thankfully I have a great dry-cleaner, and they all came back from there looking like new (except for the color fading they had anyway). I have this early 50s rayon dress that reacts so badly even to a little spot cleaning that I simply daren't touch it with anything ';). Karin
I concur about the rayon crepes - I send them all to the dry cleaner, and if I do have to iron one, I do it on the inside and watch the iron temperature to avoid the dreaded iron shine. I used to have a big steamer but it took so long to steam, was big and heavy and so I never used it. I still find that my preference is for ironing over steaming but for silks and delicate materials we use a hand steamer now - the Jiffy travel steamer ESTEAM. You can see it here - scroll down. It's quick and easy and I love it.
Some of them could go to the dry cleaner but the nicest is also the most fragile with several holes, I'm worried that would be much worse when it got back to me. If you can't use a damp handkerchief, do you iron them directly on the reverse or through a dry handkerchief?
I iron directly on the underside - you can also buy a cloth that is good for ironing. Mostly iron shine is about the temperature: just make sure the iron is not too hot. I recommend to mend garments before cleaning, because you're right; they're likely to be damaged during the process.
everyone have nice discussion. have an idea about handheld steamer for any person??? i want to use it
