Silk clothes should be washed and rinsed in tepid water and ironed with a good iron while they are still wet.
It will be found convenient to hang clothes of the same kind together on the lines. One of the reasons for this is that when they are taken down they are already sorted for sprinkling. Sprinkling is done the night before the ironing day, or early in the morning of that day. If the weather is very warm, or there is no cool place in which to keep the dampened clothes, it is better to sprinkle them in the morning, as during the night they may turn sour.
Spread a clean dish towel or cloth on a table, lay the pieces on it one on top of the other and sprinkle water over each with your hand or a clean whisk. In winter it is well to use warm water for this. Fold large pieces into a manageable size. Do not put white and coloured clothes together, nor yet starched and unstarched articles.
When all the pieces of one kind are sprinkled, or enough of several kinds for a roll, roll them tightly, turning in the sides as one does the paper round a package. Thin pieces require less sprinkling than thick ones, and folded pieces need sprinkling on both sides, but directions of this kind are of little avail, for only experiment can show you how wet to make each piece. If clothes are not well dampened they cannot be made smooth with the iron, yet they must not be so wet that they cool the irons and require an exceptional amount of pressing.
As the rolls are made, lay them in the clothes basket. When they are all finished put a cover over them, lest the outermost pieces dry before the time comes for them to be ironed.
Time and strength are wasted in attempts to use cool irons, therefore allow them time to get thoroughly heated before you begin to iron. Set up the board in a place where it will not be in a draught, as this quickly cools the irons. Place the iron-stand at the right-hand end of the board, and with it a paper, a cloth and a piece of beeswax. Under the board spread a clean cloth, that when long pieces are being ironed they may rest on the cloth instead of on the floor.
The order in which ironing is done is a matter of preference. Some women say, do the heaviest and most difficult pieces first. Others prefer to alternate the hard and easy ones. Women who do their housework without assistance usually make a roll of little unimportant things which they iron in the intervals of getting luncheon or of other necessary work.
Large articles like tablecloths and sheets are folded down the middle and first ironed on one side, then on the other. They must be folded evenly and perfectly straight. Things like pillow cases, which cannot be slipped over the board, are also ironed double and on both sides. Fine pieces, such as tablecloths and shirtwaists, should be ironed until entirely dry. On the contrary, the pieces known as flat-work—sheets, towels, etc.—may be ironed, carefully folded, and allowed to dry on the clothes horse.
The object of ironing is to make things smooth and the shape they are intended to be. By keeping this in mind, and taking pains to accomplish it, one can soon teach oneself to iron acceptably.