Bye-Bye Crease

The other day, I found myself in an unprecedented situation. I was being ogled at everywhere I set foot, be it on the streets, the mall, canteen, or even when I was presenting a paper on "16S r-RNA DNA Sequencing of Bacteria," nobody could take their eyes off me... What a fantastic day it was; it tickled my ego!

I decided to stand in front of the mirror, letting my dormant narcissist break out and appreciate the sight everyone else had apparently been treated to since morning. As I stood there, a shock, reminiscent of being struck by lightning, hit me as everything started to add up. The eyes that had been on me all morning were not appreciative ones at all! My entire shirt was mapped with wrinkles as if I had rolled my clothes into a tight ball before putting it on in the morning.

Take it from me, it's an experience you can do without. It can burn your confidence to ashes. So why not save yourself the embarrassment and rid your stuff of creases the right way.

Moisture is healthy

Having to iron over the same spot on your shirt over and over again? Try spraying water on your dry shirt to soften it. That way, it will be easier to iron the crease without having to do it repeatedly, and yield a smarter as well as more long lasting polished look.

Of the cuff

The first thing you should iron is the cuff of your sleeves. Iron on the inside and work your way from the outside to the inside, following short strokes. This way, you can ensure that the edges don't form any crease.

Hand it down

Next, you want to carefully flatten the sleeves to ensure that both sides are smooth and that the bottom side doesn't crease as you try to iron the top. Press the armpit region first, and move towards the cuff stitching, making sure that you run the iron in the direction of its sharp edge points.

While you're at it, make sure you don't iron the stitching between the sleeves and the shoulder as you can end up with a bad crease. Do the same for the other arm.

Be careful with the yoke

The stitching underneath the collar, referred to as the yoke, can be challenging to press. Place the yoke over the curved edge at the very end of the ironing board and gently iron that section with short strokes.

Crisp And Clean

Straighten your collar and draw an imaginary line through the middle of the collar and start pressing from the outside edge of one collar towards the inside until you meet the middle. Repeat the same drill for the other side of the collar to end up with a nice and crisp collar.

Almost there

Proceed to the front right hand side of the shirt and put it through the curved edge such that it sits flat and smooth on the iron board. Don't touch the pocket yet, and instead, iron the rest of the body and also the pleat with the button holes. Once you've ironed the rest of the body, start working on the pocket, making sure that you move the iron in one straight line and not across it. Again, be as gentle as you were with the collar and the cuffs. Repeat the same drill for the left hand side.

Finishing At The Back

Congratulations, you are now on the home stretch of ironing your shirt, the back of the shirt. Again, rest the back of the shirt on the curved edge of the iron board, making sure that only the back of the shirt is resting on the board. Ironing the back is fairly easy and you simply have to work your way around it.

The concept of ironing is fairly simple. The idea is to iron with short strokes, and to move length-wise with the iron, and not across, as it can create stiffer creases. By making sure that you iron each part of the shirt in accordance to the aforementioned sequence, you can bid farewell to your shirt crease.

Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed

Model: Azim

Location: Amari Dhaka