Can You Iron Wool? (How to Get Wrinkles Out of Wool Coat)
Ironing is good. Not only does it give you some time to think, or release stress, it can make your clothes look good. Getting the wrinkles out help you make a good first impression wherever you go. When it comes to ironing, always think on the positive side of things.
Can you iron wool? The short answer is yes you can iron wool. But you will need to use low temperatures and a pressing cloth to make sure your iron does not damage the wool clothing items. To be safe, make sure to check the cleaning label to make sure your wool garments can be ironed or not.
To learn how to iron those wool products you own, just continue to read our article. It has the instructions you need to make sure you do a good job and avoid damaging the wool. Patience will always be a key criteria when ironing wool.
Ironing Wool 101
Does Wool Wrinkle?
Wool is normally wrinkle resistant. That makes it a very convenient fabric to pull out of your closet or drawer and put on. However, if you wear wool, you may think that wrinkle resistance took a holiday.
Wool can wrinkle fairly easily if worn. These wrinkles usually appear when you have sat for a long time. Or you may find that your wool sweaters, etc., developed wrinkles after being stored from Spring to early Fall.
Storage is almost the same as long drives or sitting at your desk for hours. The folds and the friction from other clothing can help develop wrinkles in your favorite wool sweater. The way to get wrinkles out of wool is to iron carefully and avoid putting direct heat onto the material.
The other key to avoiding wrinkles in your wool clothing items is to hang them on wood or wide plastic hangers for 24 hours after wearing them. Prevention is always worth a pound of cure and saves you time, and effort.
Does Worsted Wool Wrinkle Easily?
There is a reason why this style of the fabric is selected for use in men’s suits. It does not wrinkle easily. The manufacturers of worsted wool discovered this back in the 18th century when this variety of wool was introduced to England.
The process of making this wool style helps prevent wrinkles from taking place, to begin with. The short fibers are combed out leaving only the long ones that tend to lie flat and parallel. This process makes sure that the wool is unfriendly when it comes to wrinkles.
What also helps to stop wrinkles in worsted wool is that those long fibers remain close together. With no room to move, wrinkles just do not stand a chance against this type of wool.
Another good aspect of this style of wool is that it does not accept stains very well. That makes it easier to keep clean. Plus, wool resists water and absorbs humidity quite well making sure your body temperature stays stable and doe snot act like it is on a roller coaster.
How To Get Wrinkles Out of Wool Coat or Pants
The first step is to hang them up right after wearing and leave them on hangers for about 24 hours. In other words, do not wear the same wool clothing 2 days in a row. If you do you then stand a good chance of seeing wrinkles appear.
Next, you can iron wool pants and possibly the wool coat but keep the iron set to the wool setting or very low heat. Then use a pressing cloth to make sure there is no direct heat hitting the wool fabric.
Next, you can try the shower steam in the bathroom method and hang up the wool items and let your shower steam handle the job. You will need to run your shower for about 15 minutes or a little longer to get the right amount of steam.
Or you can try using a steamer and see if it can remove the wrinkles for you. Hold the wand a little way away from the fabric and let the steam relax the fibers and get the wrinkles out.
Can You Iron Wool?
Yes, you can and you should check the temperature or setting dial on your iron before you start. If it is a good iron, there should be a wool setting you can turn the dial to and get the right temperature to iron wool.
If you have a steam iron, this is the better device to use as the steam function will help relax the fibers and get those wrinkles out. Then if you don’t have that function keep a spray bottle filled with water handy and wet those wrinkles lightly.
When you see that your iron doesn't have a wool setting, the best temperature to iron wool is 300 degrees F. Use a pressing cloth to make sure you do not damage the wool fabric as you work.
Also, make sure to turn the garment inside out to further protect the material as you go. Any mistakes, then, can be hidden. Always keep the iron moving and do not let it sit in one spot for more than 10 seconds.
Can You Steam Wool?
Again the answer is in the positive and it may be a better method to use than pulling out your iron, the ironing board, having a spray bottle full of water, as well as hunting down something to use as a pressing cloth.
There are two ways to steam wool, well actually three is you count the steam function on your iron. The first method is the most popular and cheapest route to go. Just hang your wool item on a nice wood or wide plastic hanger and then hang it up in your bathroom.
Once that is done, turn on your shower to hot and let the steam rise and fill the room. The whole process may take between 15 to 30 minutes but it is effective and removes those wrinkles with no real work on your part.
The other steaming method may not be as effective, but it is worth a shot. Rent or buy a steamer and use it to remove the wrinkles. This takes some effort on your part as you need to move the wand over the wool in order to remove those wrinkles.
How you steam those wrinkles out is up to you and you can find the best one for your schedule in no time.
Iron Wool Setting
If you are lucky enough to have a wool setting on your iron, then ironing this fabric should be a breeze. Just set the iron to wool and let it warm up or cool down to that temperature. When the iron is hot enough, just iron away.
If your iron has a steam function, make sure that the tank is filled before you start warming up your iron. The burst of steam will help moisten the material and relax the wrinkles so you can iron them out quickly.
Then if you are unfortunate enough to not have an iron with a wool setting, you will have to do the temperature setting the hard way. 300 degrees F or 148 degrees C is the ideal wool temperatures for ironing.
If your iron displays the temperature in numbers then you should be fine. If you have an old fashioned iron that doesn’t, then you will have to guess when the temperature is at 300 degrees.
What Temp do You Iron Wool?
300 degrees F or 148 degrees C is the ideal wool temperatures if you do not have a wool setting on your iron. Before you get started and assume you can just iron any wool item at those temperatures, stop.
Look at the laundry cleaning label before you get started to see if your wool item can be ironed or not. If you see a symbol of iron with an ‘x’ through it, then you can’t iron the item. You proceed at your own risk.
When you can’t iron wool garments, use the steam method instead. This will save you a little time and you can get those wrinkles out while you are ironing other fabrics. It is like killing two birds with one stone.
Never assume when it comes to delicate materials as most of the time you will probably assume wrong and cause some damage to your expensive items. Be cautious when trying to get wrinkles out of wool.
How To Iron Wool Sweater
Do the usual steps first, set up your ironing board, or if it is already set up, see if your iron’s steam tank is full of water. Then set your iron to the wool setting, the 300 degrees F mark, and let the iron warm up.
As that takes place, get your wool sweater ready for ironing by turning it inside out and putting a pressing cloth over it. Also, if your iron doesn’t have a steam function, fill a spray bottle up with water and keep it close.
When all of that is done, iron away moving the iron smoothly while keeping firm pressure on the garment. Once you are done ironing, just hang the item upon wood or wide plastic hangers, and you are done.
If you let the iron sit too long in one spot, you run the risk of scorching the material. Also, do not use a printed or colored towel as a pressing cloth. The dye may transfer over to the wool.
Can You Iron Wool Pants?
Yes, you can and you should follow the instructions given above. For wool pants, you can also use the steam method if you do not have time to iron. The steam method only costs a few pennies for the electricity or gas you will use but it frees you up for about 20 minutes so you can get other duties taken care of.
If you iron and before you lay down the pressing cloth, try to smooth the wrinkles out with your hands first. This will help reduce the need for the iron to be on your wool pants for longer than necessary.
Iron in straight lines and try to iron both sides of the pant legs at the same time. This will cut the exposure of the material to heat and protect it better. If the fabric has shiny spots, use vinegar and a sponge to remove those spots.
How To Iron Wool Suit Pants
The same steps given immediately above will work on wool suit pants. It is a good idea to keep the exposure to heat to a minimum so line up the pant legs in a manner that allows you to iron both sides at the same time. You just need to press hard enough to get the wrinkles out.
If you see shiny spots on your suit pants after ironing, just sponge some vinegar onto those spots and rinse the vinegar out right away. Of course, test the fabric first to make sure this step is safe for those specific pair of wool pants.
Then make sure your ironing board does not wobble. An unstable ironing board can cause you to make mistakes and damage the suit pants as you iron. It may also cause you to get burned by the iron if it drops or moves in an erratic manner.
Some Final Words
Ironing wool is a good way to keep you looking professional, businesslike, and good all at the same time. Just follow the steps mentioned above and your wool items should turn out well.
After ironing some people say to let the wool item remain where it is until it cools down but that is not a mandatory step. Just take care when you hang the wool garments up and use the right hangers.
