Monday, September 29, 2008

My Technique for Puffy Sleeves.....


Whenever I need to press little puffy sleeves I have a technique that I use. I would enjoy having a puff iron that is made just for this...but I don't need to puff sleeves often enough to spend the money. So, I thought I'd share with you all how I puff sleeves when the time does arrive.



I unbutton the garment so that I can access the sleeves from the inside. (The dress I am showing here is the little dress I just recently finished. I'll show the entire dress in the next post.)


Then I spray some starch evenly into the sleeve area.

I wait a few moments until the starch is absorbed into the fabric and then I turn on the blow dryer and aim it into the sleeve. The air will puff out the sleeve like a balloon...which is fun. And it will dry the fabric that has just been starched. Move the blow dryer around so you don't scorch the fabric.


Then after you remove the blow dryer you will have a nicely puffed sleeve. Now repeat on the other sleeve and enjoy your new creation!!!

12 comments:

Ginny said...

What an awesome idea! Where were you 20 years ago??

Anonymous said...

Perfect - I do this all the time and then I stuff the sleeve with a bit of tissue paper to keep it nice. But be careful...I once saw a pic of a gorgeous dress with a burn in the sleeve...the starch got too hot and burnt a hole in the fabric..yikes. :)

Jessica said...

Thanks for sharing this tip! I would never have thought of this, and I'll definitely use your idea in the future with a little girl on the way!

Blessings,
Jessica

Unknown said...

Great tip! That's so easy. It's definitely better than spending the money on an expensive puff-iron

Shannon said...

Great idea. I also wanted to let you know I think that Elisabeth and Emily's outfits are just adorable. Love the colors and the fabrics!

Shannon F

Casey said...

Great Idea! Thanks for sharing!

Cindy said...

I am glad you all found this helpful. And like Cheryl said...be careful because the fabric can scorch if you get too aggressive with the blow dryer.

Ivory Spring said...

Now, that's just a very smart idea! I was just wondering how one would do the sleeves without a puffing iron. Thanks for the tutorial!

Cindy said...

Ivory Spring...thanks so much. This technique has worked for me for many years now. I have heard that some people will use a warm light bulb in a lamp (with the lamp shade removed) to press sleeves. But that always seems too time consuming to me to have to remove the lamp shade and not burn myself or my sleeves.

teresajoy said...

Oh WOW!!! BRILLIANT!!! Thank you SOOOO much!!!

Tammy@Simple Southern Happiness said...

Awesome way, this sure gets the job done. Amazing!

Cellomama said...

Thank you!! I have two little heirloom-style dresses for my girls to wear to a family wedding this weekend, and have been wracking my brain to figure out what to do with those teeny tiny sleeves. I can't wait to try this! I'm so glad I found this post!

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