Friday, December 30, 2011

Little Shoes and a great iron cleaner

I was supposed to make my black pants yesterday, and although they are cut and ready to go, I had to make these instead.

They are just so cute, I couldn't resist.



I got the pattern from the Etsy shop called Little Shoes. There were so many cute patterns, I did the special and bought 3 for $10.00, so you can expect to see some more of these coming up soon! I can see where I need to adjust my sewing for next time, but for a first attempt at baby shoe making, not bad!








Now, for the tip of the day. My iron gets gunked up easily because in addition to my sewing, my daughter starches her work shirts every day and the starch builds up quickly on the iron. I have used a variety of different methods to try to keep my iron clean, but it seems that the best I had tried so far (until now) was the Rowenta iron cleaner. Although convenient, it is very expensive - even with a 40% of coupon. So, I decided to Google and You Tube a "clean iron" search. I tried a few different things, but the absolute best (and easiest) is this. I also have used this method on both hot or cold iron and it works great!



I put a little baking soda in a small container and keep it in my sewing room. I also bought a small bottle of white vinegar that is kept just for the sewing room. Dip an old towel in the vinegar and then in the baking soda. Rub it gently over the iron and all the gunk will come off like magic! You may need to do this a few times or rub a little harder on any stubborn spots. This is MUCH cheaper than commercial cleaners, does not involve any chemicals, is easy to use, and works BETTER than the commercial cleaners. Give it a try!

4 comments:

Mrs K said...

Great tip - thanks!

Lisa said...

Thanks for that tip , I will most definitely use it .

Margaret said...

Thank you. This is a wonderful tip. I will definitely use this.

Moushka said...

Just discovered your blog, although I've been reading about your sewing feats for years on PR. Thanks for the great iron cleaning tip. Baking soda ha so many uses in the home! Love the pix of your darling little granddaughter, and very touched by your mission to Uganda. Not sure I could endure the heat or two weeks without running water. Anything we can do to improve the lot of the women of this world is so worthwhile.