How to Get Wrinkles Out of a Silk and Wool Dress

Pressing

• 1

  Set the iron to the "Silk" setting — usually medium-low — and assemble the ironing board. Turn off the iron's steam feature.

• 2

  Slide the dress onto the ironing board so that the wrinkled area lies smoothly on the top of the board.

• 3

  Place a pressing cloth over the wrinkled area. Any smooth, woven piece of cotton fabric will work, such as a tea towel, a clean piece of discarded bed sheet, or a plain white handkerchief. You can also purchase pressing cloths from fabric stores.

• 4

  Set the iron on the pressing cloth, and press the garment rather than ironing it. Pressing calls for moving the iron by picking it up and setting it down rather than pushing it across the fabric. Continue pressing until the wrinkles are gone.

Steaming

• 5

  Put the dress on a padded hanger. Hang it in the bathroom on a rack or hook well away from the shower enclosure. Run a hot shower for a few minutes with the bathroom door closed. The steam from the shower will relax wrinkles.

• 6

  Use a garment steamer. These devices have handheld nozzles that emit a continuous jet of steam. Move the nozzle across the dress, directing the steam towards wrinkled areas. Keep the nozzle at least an inch or two away from the fabric and move it constantly, never allowing the nozzle to touch the dress.

• 7

  Simulate a garment steamer with an iron and a cloth. Cover the ironing surface of a hot iron with a damp cotton cloth. Hold the cloth-covered surface near the dress without touching it until the wrinkles steam out.