Wooden Pressing Bar - A Sewing Tool - Great for Pressing without Getting Burned

In the recent past, quilting has enjoyed an increase in popularity and many tools came on the market to make simple tasks even easier and to keep people quilting. A pressing bar is a hard wood stick that is flattened on one end to "press" fabric. A pressing bar turned out to be the perfect tool to keep small fingers from being burned while learning to sew. I teach sewing to our local 4H children and the iron is always one of the scariest palaces for the young sewers. The parents and grown ups tend to step in and take over rather than risk a youngster getting burned by the iron, especially when its a small piece that needs to be pressed before continuing. The solution to allowing a child to safely iron is this simple wooden stick for pressing before they approach the ironing board.

• Buy Direct at Joann.com - Alex Andersons 4-In-1 Essential Sewing Tool - Four must-have quilting and crafting tools in one: flat-ended presser cap for finger pressing; folding and burnishing; a super-sharp Bernina seam ripper for fast un-sewing; pointed wood end cap for turning bias tubes and doll parts and extra-long stiletto protects fingers while pressing and machine piecing. Hand-crafted in the U.S. of real maple wood. Specially designed to not roll off your work surface! Tool measures 8-1/8''x5/8''. Imported.

A baby hem is easier to turn under and keep straight if a single row of stitching is sewn an even distance from the edge before turning under. Using that line of stitching as a guide and turning that row of stitching on the edge of the fold makes it unnecessary to measure as you turn under at the iron. The problem is that the row of stitching is very close to the edge of the fabric so fingers need to be near the iron and steam burns happen easily. Use the wooden pressing bar to "press" the fold on the row of stitching and then press again one the raw edge is enclosed so the press is pretty much done before an iron touches the fabric.

Use these steps:

1. Sew a line of stitching a 1/4" from the raw edge.
2. Using the wooden pressing bar, fold the fabric on the row of stitching bringing the wrong sides together. Press down and drag the pointed edge across the fold with the item on a hard surface.
3. Fold again to enclose the raw edge and press the new fold line with the wooden pressing bar.
4. Crease the fabric well with the pressing bar and then take the item to the ironing board and press it with the iron.

A pressing bar does not take the place of an iron. The heat of an iron will set the stitching in the fabric and create a stronger crease than the wooden pressing bar can create.
Many times when fabric is preshrunk, it looses the finishing which helps create a crisp sharp crease. Fabric spray starch will not un-do preshrinking and will help you achieve crisp creases. If the fabric seems limp after preshrinking, iron the fabric using fabric sizing or spray starch before cutting out the pieces of your project. This will help the wooden pressing bar create sharp creases which will hold in place until the iron sets the crease.