How to Iron a Wedding Dress

Know how to properly iron a wedding dress to keep it looking nice and prevent damage. Most wedding dresses are made of delicate fabrics such as satin, lace, tulle, taffeta, and chiffon. These are not suitable for regular ironing and instead require some special techniques.

1. The Steamy Hot Bathroom

The most widely known way of getting the creases out of a wedding dress is the trick with the steamy hot bathroom. Simply hang the dress, turn on the shower and let the steam relax the wrinkles. However, this method will not address deeper creases. Unless you send your dress to a specialized dry cleaner, you’ll need to iron it yourself. Get a sample piece of fabric from a dress store and try out the following techniques.

2. Iron Delicate Fabrics

Place the iron on the lowest setting, usually denoted as suitable for synthetics. Use a piece of ironing fabric to put between the dress and the iron. Have a spray bottle with clear water handy to spray on the ironing fabric. Your movements with the iron should be very quick and light. An additional option is to turn the dress inside out so you iron over the inside. This way, if any damage is done, it won't show.

Always iron from the top of the dress down. Iron each layer separately—from the underskirts to the outer layers, taking care not to crease the one beneath while ironing the next one. Gradually increase the temperature setting on the iron until it is in the middle position.

3. Iron Satin

Satin creases very easily. For this reason, using the iron straight off is not suitable as it may damage your dress. It is best if you have a steamer on satin, but if you don’t have one, a little trick with the iron will also do the job. Load the iron with plenty of water and set it on one of the steam settings. Place a piece of ironing fabric on the part of the dress you want to iron.

Hold the iron seven to 10 inches away from the dress. Press the button to let the steam out. Pull down the dress fabric at the same time to straighten it. Never touch the dress with the iron! Be careful not to get water from the steam onto the dress as it might leave spots.

As an alternative, cover the ironing board with aluminium foil and place the dress on top. Use the steam setting again. With this method, the heat from the aluminium foil smoothes out the creases. This steaming technique can also be used on other wedding dress fabrics.

4. Professional Services

Caring for your wedding dress is very important as the gown can easily get wrinkled. With the simple techniques outlined above, you can make sure it is in perfect shape. However, if you don't feel at ease using any of them, it is always best to consult and use the services of a professional dry cleaner who specializes in wedding dresses.