How to Iron a Dress Shirt

Learning how to iron a dress shirt properly requires practice, and lots of it. Even if you know the basics of how it's done, it requires skill in handling the clothes iron so that you don't end up getting your fingers burned each time you iron.

How to Iron a Dress Shirt
Aside from burning your fingers or the shirt, the most important things you need to watch out for when ironing a dress shirt is not making additional wrinkles as you go. The fabric should always be pulled taut over the ironing board and the iron should always be moved over the fabric in short, even strokes, never staying in one spot for more than a couple of seconds. Always use the heat setting on the iron that is compatible with the fabric that the shirt is made from. The tag on the inside of the collar should have the fabric listed on it.

• Turn the temperature dial to the desired heat setting.
• Set the iron on the back or thicker end of the ironing board and allow it about one minute to heat up.
• While the iron is heating, lay the dress shirt on the ironing board, with the back of the collar flat against the board.
• Run the heated iron over one side of the collar, and then flip the shirt and iron the back side of the collar.
• Iron the sleeves next, being careful to press all the way to the shoulder seam and taking care to run your iron carefully around the cuff buttons.
• Place one sleeve on the ironing board, adjusting it so that the sleeve lies flat and even-iron one side, pressing the cuff as you go, then flip it and do the same on the other side (if the shirtsleeve is too large to fit on the ironing board all at once, iron the top half first and then work your way to the cuff).
• To press the shoulder of the shirt, open the shirt and pull it over the rounded end of the ironing board (the rounded part should be pushed into the sleeve and the shoulder should be flat against the ironing board).
• Iron the shoulders with even sure strokes, making sure the point of the iron runs all the way up to the collar seam and also all along the sleeve seam.
• Iron the body of the shirt last, starting with the front left panel on the ironing board and the remainder of the shirt falling to the other side of the ironing board.
• Carefully move the hot iron into and out of the area between the buttons.
• Next, run the iron over the left front of the shirt, again being careful to bring the point all the way to the seams.
• Pull the shirt a half turn so that the side seam is now lying on the ironing board; press the seam down and carefully iron up to the underarm seams.
• Pull the shirt another half turn and iron the left side of the back, being careful to pull the widest portion of the shirt-the back of the shoulder-onto the rounded end of the ironing board and pressing all the way to the collar and to the sleeve seams.
• Continue turning the shirt and pressing as you go.
• When you are finished ironing the shirt, hang it on a clothes hanger.

To keep a dress shirt from becoming wrinkled all over again, always button the top button of the shirt after it's been hung on the hanger, and never crowd the closet.