Are Mini Irons and Wool Mats Worth the Investment?
Ironing and sewing are not usually associated with each other, especially for beginners. But once you get started, you quickly come to find out that many tutorials mention that four-letter word, and they mention it often… I-R-O-N! Urg, I hate ironing. The last thing I want to do is put it into my hobby that I enjoy. But why is it important? Well, the truth is, ironing can make the difference between a project that looks more professional and one that that looks “homemade.” If you are an avid fabric pre washer, ironing your fabrics prior to cutting is also a necessary step to getting the fabric pieces precise. But, I have always wondered if mini irons and wool mats were worth the investment.
The ability to have an iron in your sewing space, close at hand, is definitely a convenience. But the iron and ironing board can take up a lot of space, space that not everyone has! This is why for a few years now, I have been intrigued by the mini irons and the wool mats. These seemed like they would save both time and space in my sewing, yet it was not something that was on the priority of my sewing wish list. These items usually hit the backburner to purchasing more fabric if I had to choose where I was spending my money.
Is a Mini Iron and Wool Mat Worth the Investment?
Guess what?!?!?! I was gifted both this Christmas! I could not wait to see if they were everything I hoped they would be. Spoiler alert… THEY WERE! Let me tell you why…
Five Reasons why I LOVED my Mini Iron and Wool Mat
- Using the mini iron and wool mat made for quicker ironing time. Actually, MUCH quicker ironing time. When the wool heats up, the heat is coming from both the top and the bottom of your fabric piece. Wool is the perfect insulator, so it absorbs heat and really does speed things up quite a bit!
- The mat has a soft fuzzy texture that actually grips your fabric to help keep it in place.
- The small compact size of the iron fits nicely in your hand and is a much lighter weight than a regular size iron.
- I don’t like clutter. I can’t say my sewing space doesn’t sometimes look like a “creative genius” is at work. But I will say I hate the clutter of large items left out. Having a regular size iron and ironing board out always seemed like clutter, clutter, clutter. And when you are going to be using it frequently, putting the iron away and taking it down and storing the ironing board can be a pain. This mini iron and wool mat can just be placed in a drawer. Easy breezy.
- I didn’t feel like I was pressing really hard for barely any results. I actually wasn’t pressing with the mini iron at all! Now, maybe this is because my other iron isn’t the best, but for some reason when I used my regular size iron on my sewing projects I felt like I was always pressing into the fabric super hard to get the creases out, yet they never really seemed to be completely gone. With the mini iron and wool mat, I just simply slid the iron across the fabric. It was more of a glide than a “press.”
Watch how easy it is:
Tips from Beginner Sewing Facebook group members:
“Check your military surplus stores. Army blankets are 100 percent wool. That’s what I use, and I didn’t cut it down. I just laid it over my ironing board. But when we have folks over in the winter, it makes a nice, warm extra blanket,” said a Beginner Sewing Facebook group member.
“I bought a western saddle horse blanket from Statelinetack.com. Way better pricing and larger size (can cut it down yourself if too big) than any sewing center offered (even on sale), and it’s the same material/thickness. Very pleased,” said a member of the Beginner Sewing Facebook group.
“I have three- a small one from a quilt shop, medium from amazon and large one from a horse tack store. All three work the same. I will admit that the large one is not as smooth as the other two but it was much cheaper,” said another group member.
