Window as Ironing Board

I hate it when you have to miss a meeting and then people keep telling you how great it was.  Last spring my friend Beth McLaughlin gave a presentation on textile conservation for a monthly Weavers Guild meeting, and I had a conflict.  Darn!  Just last week Jan Hayman told me about an anecdote that Beth related.  Back when it was popular to wear a crisp white kerchief, women used a mirror or window to smooth and “iron” their kerchiefs after rinsing them out.  I had to try this.  I found a wrinkled handkerchief.

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I soaked it, wrung out some of the water, and smoothed it on to a window.

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My husband wondered about this–why was the handkerchief on the window?

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But it worked great!  Here it is after peeling it from the glass.

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5 comments

  1. Hi Robbie Back in the 60’s when I was a nursing student that is the way we “ironed”our heavily starched caps. Washed them, and rinsed in a starch mixture and slapped them up on a refrigerator door, counter etc. to dry. By the time I graduated we had permanently starched caps that literally “stood”on their own. Paula

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