Pressing Matters - Part DuexMay 8, 2026 After extolling the virtues of excellent pressing equipment, I left out the most important part - the equipment!
Buying an iron has been a long, hard pull for me,
especially over the last 10 years (I can't believe it's been 10 years since I moved into my one-level dream home, but it has!). But this all should start back about mid mid-80s when I bought my first really serious iron.
This was the Reliable i300, and I loved it. And the price, back then was reasonable - about $199. This darn thing lasted almost 20 years. I loved this unit and thought I had stumbled upon a real find. What made the iron particularly treasured, was that I could call their service in Canada and get in touch with Luigi, who knew everything about this iron, and would walk me through the
basic repairs, restarting, and everything I needed to know. That's part of the reason the iron lasted so long. But when it came time to finally
say good bye - literally after 20 years, the price doubled, and I balked a little, cause it was still the same unit, but I didn't see how it could double in price. So I went search for something new.
I ran across the Sapporo Gravity Feed Iron and after much investigation, purchased that.
This worked well for about five years, but fizzled out so I decided to go back to the Reliable even though it was still a huge price. This worked fine, till I moved into my one-level dream home, and then man, the iron troubles started. It was like some sort of soap opera - one would work for a while, then would fizzle out, and another would work, then I would go back to another, and it would
work.
Finally I decided enough was enough. I was in my new studio and time to do some serious investing. I was also working with my local Bernina dealer who was also having a mess with irons, so she decided time to go to the top of the line and found Laurastar.
Let me tell you, my first couple of years with this jewel were wonderful. This puppy really let off steam, and the amazing thing is that when I put my hand over the steam, it didn't burn my hand, but pressing my sheets (yes, I press my sheets) was a dream,
and they came out really flat.
Then one day, I started having spitting problems. And with this unit, spitting problems were major - they were black. And black on a wedding dress is a heart-stopper! So I started with the support on this, and at first, it was really great. I sent the iron back twice, and it still spit. I was totally baffled. Finally, I brought out an old gravity feed, and the sole wasn't in the best shape, so I looked on
Amazon and found this model that they use at Oklahoma State University in their Design and Merchandising School.
It just so happens that the Pressinitrix (another cute persona of Ann Steeves at Gorgeous Fabrics) also uses the Silver Star, and that
did it. Something indestructible is what I needed.
About the same time, I needed to have some electrical work done in my studio. I have my computer and business desk in the same area as my sewing machine, and I had purchased a new serger (and it's so kewl!), so I needed to redo the electrical plugs. I decided to go full hog and had two (actually more than that, but two is all I needed) open slots on the breaker, so I had an electrician come over and wire in two new
plugs. One was going to be a designated plug for my iron only, and the other would be for all the other equipment with a 4-plug in the wall. Both of these would be on separate slots in the breaker box so that they couldn't overload that circuit. It's amazing what all those ear buds, PayPal charger, mic-charger, hard drive charger (for long days in class when I need to charge up my phone), extra hard drives, and pretty soon you have a cord extravaganza, or more like a mess with
a couple of strips to plug all that stuff into!
Lo and behold, the Silver Star is fabulous. It doesn't spit, and it came with a teflon sole, so if I'm doing something on a black or something that might shine, I put that sole on, and it acts like a gem.
Now I did have a problem one day when it started ponding around the bottom of the iron. I was heartbroken thinking that this was the end of another iron. So went online, discovered I needed a $5 part
sole at Amazon, and that this was a pretty common problem and might happen about every 2 or so years. Got the part (got two), inserted it like a breeze, turned on the iron, and it's working again, like a charm.
Here's what I really think.
I think that both the Reliable and the Laurastar were working off a very overused and tired circuit from the breaker. That getting the gravity feed AND the new outlet both
worked, but the new outlet was probably the main one. I won't buy another Laurastar, or if I do, it will be this model. I sure did love the steam on that Laurastar, but right now I'm not good with the price, and will have to do some more clients before I go down that road.
But my point remains the same. Having a good outlet is vital. And when I
thought back to my iron in my old home, I had a singular plug that was only used for the iron. I had that room totally wired, and had told the designer I wanted it to be a sub-station for the local electric utility company!
That's the first thing you need to make sure of. Don't try and run a good iron from a strip or even on a shared plug, especially if it's your machine or other heavy equipment (and that includes a computer). The iron needs to have its own
dedicated source. I got 3 electricians off Anji's list to come out and do a big. The first two forgot what they came for and did a big job for the whole house for tens of thousands of dollars. I kept thinking, " What does' I want two plugs in from two slots in the breaker box (in the room next door that could be fished through the attic and down the wall), and they wanted tens or thousands of dollars - uh, no, and that's a big no! The third electrician gave me a quote for
what I wanted, for a couple of hundred dollars, and I said BINGO! They came out and in one afternoon (really about 3 hours), they had it done. I had the iron plugged in and was steaming in 20 minutes! The cord wasn't hot, and it was working like a dream.
I still have the Laurastar, and I'm not averse to trying to use it again. But right now my Silver Star is working so well, I really don't want to try and mess with the Laurastar!
The takeaway
here is please ensure you have a dedicated plug (one plug only) for your iron. It will save you a lot of money and heartache. And these Silver Star irons are really phenomenal. They use them up at Oklahoma State, and I figured if they can survive the abuse of newbies, then they are my iron! I can't say enough fine things about them, and the price is extremely attractive. The repair parts are nominal, and many YouTube videos to walk you through most of the repairs.
They steam well too, as I have lots of garments that can only take steaming - no ironing is possible.
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Tracking a fashion trend isn't all that hard after seeing a few of them.
Living from Mid-Century Modern through Twiggy...
It's worth the time to look at these styles, particularly today as
there is a group of that wants to look....
This is the way fashion used to be -- pretty, flattering and I can't wait to make some of...
NOTE: There are some folks who can't get my email, or it's sporadic, or something is hinky. I will always respond to any of you who send a private message, whether it's about the topic of the week or something else. If you don't get anything
from me, it's probably because the [email protected] email is blocked, and even a private message can't get through. In that case, I'm on Instagram often, and you can always PM me at @sewingartistry.
As a precaution,
please ensure I'm in your email Address Book and check your spam, junk, and trash folders. Some email clients get extra excited when they see emails coming into the Inbox that go to many other receivers. They automatically think it's trash or spam, and it never makes it to the Inbox. I must constantly check my spam and junk folders to ensure I'm getting the emails I subscribe to.
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