When and how did the practice of clothes ironing originate?

Thursday, May 17th, 2012 at 7:00 pm

Carmella Asked:

I am intrigued as to the invention of the iron. When was the need for an implement to remove creases from clothing identified? How did society come to recognise this need? Did the invention of the iron pronounce creased clothes as unacceptable, or was it developed in response to demand? In other words: which came first, the iron or the desire for crease-free clothes. I have pondered this many times whilst ploughing through a basket of clothes ironing. Any thoughts?

Reply:

David Woodcock, Assistant Curator of Domestic Technology at the Science Museum of London, traced pressing back to the Egyptians and Romans who did not use heat, relying on weight and pressure alone to smooth cloth. "Hot Ironing" is a relatively new idea that apparently came from the Mysterious East.

Among the methods of pressing that do not involve heat are:

Smoothing Stones, shaped like a large mushroom, are the earliest western ironing devices. In Scandinavia they are known as "slicken" stones, slekje meaning to polish and smooth. They were made from various hard materials such as wood, glass, stone and bone. One or two hands were used to press firmly down upon the fabric; by rubbing back and forth rapidly, the friction generated heat that assisted in smoothing. In parts of Holland they are still used to leksteen (polish and smooth) the starched parts of the National costume.
The Smoothing Board or mangl is an improvement on the smoothing stone by using mechanical force to apply pressure. The fabric is wrapped around roller and a lever is used to apply pressure as the roller is turned. (This is the basis for advanced Ironing Machines, as discussed below. The difference is that heat was not applied)
The Linen Press has two hard flat surfaces that are squeezed together by a threaded rod and flattens fabric placed between plates with pressure.
Somewhere around the 12th Century, East met West through trade. Fashion became heavily influenced by the possibilities of starching and pressing. Of note, people began to wear ruffled and fluted collars that demanded both Heat and Pressure. Among the earliest devices were:

Goffering Irons are slender rods that were arranged on a stand. They were heated either with a flame or by inserting a heated core or "slug". Cloth was inter-threaded between the rods to form the ruff. This was a complex process and only the very wealthy could afford the time and labor associated with goffering. Consequently many of these devices are lavishly ornamented and are quite valuable to collectors.
Fluter Irons represented the application of mechanics to the process of pressing. They can look like meshed sets of gears that crimp and press at the same time. Others look like large sets of pliers that form the cloth into a given shape by squeezing the handles. Others look like a mold -- a top piece is pressed into the bottom to shape the garment. There is a wide variety of these devices all keyed to separate fashion trends. Heat was supplied to the fluter by either inserting a hot slug or heating the device on a stove.
Sad Irons (where sad means "heavy") are the rudimentary ancestor of all modern irons and evolved as a single tool to serve a wide variety of purposes.
By the 18th Century, irons had evolved to their current shape and size. The smoothly pointed shape facillitates the ironing of pleats, collars and small details. The notch in the nose allows you to iron around buttons. The weight is a compromise between heat retention and heft. A big, heavy iron will hold heat for a long time, but it will kill your arm if you use it for very long. In general, 2,000 years of trial and error gave us a device that is immediately recognized as an "clothes ironing."