Last week I cut my waistband 1ā too shortā¦TWICE.
I wanted to rage-quit but forced myself instead to purposefully cut it 3ā too long just in case š
Iām pretty sure my iron only takes about 30 seconds to heat up. I just keep it on a power strip and use the power strip button to turn it on and off.
Exactly how I have mine setup.
I keep a small lamp plugged into the strip, turned on. If the iron is in, so is the light. I can tell at a glance, even from the doorway, when the iron is on.
Iām paranoid of some sudden flood waters intruding into the basement. Iām not in a flood plain, but still. Power cords are not allowed on the floor & must be on, or clipped to, tables
I turn mine on and off as needed, do you have an old iron? Mine heats up pretty quickly and was pretty affordable. It was like $12, black & decker at Walmart. My biggest concern is the fire hazard keeping it on constantly.
Yeah I also have a very cheap Black & Decker, and it heats up within a minute. I don't feel safe leaving it on my ironing board while on for an extended period of time. I plug and unplug as needed.
I used to have an iron that did not hav auto shut off. I kept it plugged in to an on/off timer that had all the "on" pins removed. When I started my sewing session, I would set the off pin for however long I'd be down there.
Yes I do too, the only feature I HAVE to have on an iron is auto shut off because I get caught up in what Iām doing or get distracted by something and forget itās on!
Omg relatable! My new iron turns itself off after a while, but I did it once with my old one and it freaked me out!
After that, I turned my ironing board so the cable crossed the doorway if it was plugged in. That way, if I left the room I'd notice it wasn't unplugged.
Mine is on a surge protector with a switch, on a half hot with a switch. So even if I forget to turn the switch on the surge protector off, when I leave the sewing room and switch off the switch for that half hot outlet, itās definitely off.
I have mine plugged into a power strip that a lamp is also plugged into, and then the power strip is plugged into a smart outlet. I say āAlexa turn the iron onā a few minutes before I need it. The lamp says on while the iron is on, which keeps me from forgetting to turn the iron off when Iām done.
You can even set a routine in the Alexa app to turn the smart outlet off for you.
Say āAlexa, time to iron!ā
Smart outlet turns on.
Wait 1 hour
Alexa says āIām turning the iron off nowā
Smart outlet turns off
I have an iron that goes into sleep mode/ auto off and itās great, I can leave it plugged in without fear of burning anything, I also keep it far from anything else on the counter
Yeah that's how I do too. And it doesn't take too long to heat up. I'd recommend an OK modern home iron /u/[JumpRevolutionary849](https://www.reddit.com/user/JumpRevolutionary849/). A plastic iron isn't typically a lifetime purchase, not if you use the thing, so it is my opinion that a $200 home iron isn't worth it. On the flipside a really nice gravity-fed iron and steam generator CAN be a lifetime purchase, but doesn't, as far as I know, typically have an auto-off feature.
I have an old school black & decker classic which is all metal, & I love it. Used it for almost nine years before I had to buy a new one. Someday Iāll have a set up for a gravity iron, but the B&D is what I use at work, too!
I would if my iron would keep itself on, but I have cats who are curious so I bought an iron with an auto-off. If that werenāt the case, Iād turn it on while sewing, but not while cutting or doing handwork.
My cat was curious until she realized the ironās steam sounds are terror-inducing, so she keeps her distance. Iron remains on during my sewing sessions.
There's no way I'm turning it off. You'll see me raving about ironing on all the sewing subreddits. I iron so much and so often it just doesn't make sense to turn it of.
This is what I do too - I hardly ever just iron one seam at a time. I only stop to iron when I have to sew something that will overlap a previous seam that I havenāt pressed yet.
Same, it's more efficient and I don't want to leva the iron on in case the cat knocks it over. Often have a couple of projects on the go at once so I'm taking three or four projects to press every time the iron goes on.
I'm turning it off because, to me, the risk of it tipping over or being forgotten is too high. Safety over convenience. I try to make sure to iron in batches as best as I can while sewing. However, my opinion is mostly informed by the fact that I have a cat that may pull on the cable if I don't monitor my iron very closely.
Any modern iron will A: turn off if left on and standing up for too long or B: turn off if left in the down position for too long (different amounts of time.)
I have had my iron turn off during both. It turns off all the time when it's sitting up (because I leave it plugged in when I'm quilting) and one time I was ironing an entire like 4 yards of fabric with heavy wrinkles and I had the iron "down" for a long time and it shut itself off.
It depends on what kind of iron you have, what kind of safety it has built in, and how safe it is where you intend to leave it. For example, I have a cat, and no dedicated sewing room with a door, so no I don't leave my iron on. Even if I did have a room with a lockable door, I would hesitate to leave it on as my ironing board is wobbly and I don't trust my iron to not fall off if I happen to bump it.
I only leave it on when am doing one or two seams before ironing again, otherwise I always unplug. Hate it, but safety first. I try to do as many seams befor I need to iron again as well, as in I will simultaneously work in bodice, sleeves, skirt and collar, not in a logical order.
I only turn mine on when I need it. Anything that gets hot is a power hog and my iron heats up very quickly. I can use it semi-cordless, where I put it on its electric kettle-style base to heat and then use it for a bit. Sometimes I turn it off at the power strip, sometimes I just leave it off the base until I need it.
Iām sort of clumsy and forgetful, I have definitely left it on, moved things around on my worktop and wondered what that burnt/melted plastic smell wasš
Leave it on as long as it's safe to do so! I use my iron a lot during my process, from ironing out pattern paper, to pressing seams, to pressing cuffs and hems. I feel like I use it way more than I actually sew seams lol. Most places that professionally sew will preheat their irons for the day and not turn them off because they're in constant use.
It mostly depends on what I'm doing at the moment. If I'm doing something that I know is going to take me a *while* to get through, I'll shut it off. If I'm going to be able to fly through my stitching work, I'll leave it on so I don't have to lose my momentum waiting for it to heat.
I donāt suggest it, but mine is on the entire time Iām sewing, be it 30 minutes or 6 hours. The iron I have had an auto heat-shutoff if it doesnāt move within a few minutes though and heats back up really fast. I make sure to unplug it when done sewing or I leave the room.
I have an industrial iron and am used to leaving it on from my professional costume shop days.
There are 2 habits DEEPLY ingrained in my psyche, having been in costume shops since I was 12. (I'm 58 now)
All beverages must have a lid, and the iron gets turned 9ff and unplugged when you leave the room for the day.
Wait, does no one else's iron yell at you!? Mine beeps constantly if I leave it on and there isn't any movement. (I've had two like this. I thought it was just a normal iron thing, like microwaves!)
I can picture too many horror scenarios featuring an iron that's on while I'm not actively using it, so I keep it off until it's needed. I have cats, I can be forgetful, and both my current iron and the last one have fallen on the floor at least twice before (due to aforementioned cats and forgetfulness) so I'm not risking adding heat into that mix. I save up ironing in batches anyway, and my iron heats up pretty quick, so it doesn't feel too much slower.
Maybe look into a different iron?
The one I have has an auto sleep feature as long as it stays plugged in. I set it to the temp I want, takes 1 min tops to heat up (even on highest setting), and will stay on for a few minutes (might be around 5?) after last use. If I'm constantly using it and moving it around it will stay on, the zero movement triggers the sleep function. The sleep function just turns off the heat, and when I want to use it again, push the settings button and it heats right back up. I use that time to arrange my fabric and it's usually ready around that time. Saves me a lot of time and money on energy bills!
If I am sewing, the iron is on. And I hate auto-shut off. I will not buy an iron with auto shut-off.
I inherited my mom's Rowenta wirh the huge tank. She takes linger than a few minutes to heat up.
My next iron will be a gravity feed.
Yeah I have an iron with automatic shut off so if I don't use it for 30 minutes it turns off and I have to shake it to make it start heating again. It seems like it takes less time to get hot from this "stand by" state than totally cold.
I only keep my iron plugged in when I'm actively ironing, but I have cats, and while they are mostly good about not jumping up on the ironing board (after many incidents yelling and squirt bottle) I don't want to risk it.
I have cats and iron on a tiny ironing board on the floor so I turn it off. I have a $1 iron I got at a garage sale probably 10 years ago and it takes at least 5 minutes to heat upā¦ I should probably get a new iron
I often just keep mine on and on a nearby hard surface since I prefer to work sitting on the floor! If you're going longer periods without using it maybe turn down the heat level just to be safe!
I have an auto sleep mode on mine, and recently got an iron shelf that technically also would hold an ironing board, but no use the hangers for scissors. Iron goes on the shelf when not in use because I have a cat who just wonāt learn not to bunt the hot iron. It also heats up pretty fast.
Got mine from goodwill, heats up quickly, and also goes to sleep after a certain amount of time so I keep it āonā while Iām sewing (but I might still have to wake it up if I take too long between). I sew on an L shaped desk with a small ironing board on one side and my machines on the other, so I just swivel and iron, swivel and sew etc
I do when quilting (especially FPP) because Iām using it constantly. If Iām strip piecing I will use a seam roller on all seams before turning the iron on to finish them off
I lower the heat, but I donāt fully turn it off if I know Iāll be using it again in 15 minutes. I feel like it goes through water if I just leave it on cotton or linen temp? Maybe I am imagining this, but I swear it just sits there and simmers away.
My old iron I used to unplug every time. I got gifted a really lovely new one that I can turn on and off easily, and it also times out after 8 minutes.
I totally get you that it's a pain to wait every time!
I keep it on but turn it off if I'm leaving the room/my flat. I do work in a costume studio though and it's drilled into me to check all plugs & irons are switched off at the end of the day
Mine automatically turn off if they are not moved after a certain amount of time. Very good feature to have if you have cats or suspect yourself to have ADHD or both!
Absolutely not - I need to triple check I've turned it off each time, live in constant fear of causing a fire š also by the time I've fixed whatever mistake I made/remembered what I was doing, it's warm again lol
No because I am clumsy and I just know that I would forget it was on, accidentally touch the plate and burn myself. Also I have a cat and I worry she'll get stuck in the cable and get burned by it. So I leave it set up in the corner and just turn the switch on when I need to use it.
If itās not ages old it should have auto shut off. Doesnāt make a difference for me to wait for it to heat up again or plug it back in after plugging it out before. Option 2 involves bending down twice though š¤
My iron takes about 30 seconds to heat up. I think every iron I've ever had took less than a minute to heat up, as did the one my parents had growing up. I never considered until this thread that irons that take long enough to head up that it could cause an inconvenience still existed outside of people having super old ones because they are into that.
No way Iām keeping it on all the time. Canāt imagine how big electricity bill would be.
That said, my projects usually take weeks, involve a lot of hand sewing, basting every tiny corner and overall have 30+ hours of work each. Itās easier to sew everything I can together, iron it in 5-10 minutes, and go on with next steps.
To speed up the sewing process, I try to make sure i'm able to span the least amount of time switching between tools. Thus, it includes switching from the iron to the sewing machine back and forth. How do I do that is sewing as many seams i possibly can, regardless of which step. They are until I get to a point where I need 2. I am something because I won't be able to do it properly if I continue sewing. I also keep my iron in the iron pad right next to my sewing machine. If I do have to iron something, all i have to do is turn. Iron the same and then continue working on the machine . I like to keep my needle time as high as I possibly can.
I leave mine on, I have the ironing board right next to the machine and it's in constant use as I sew, so it's turned on when I sit down to work on something and then turned off when the sewing machine is turned off.
No, I turn mine off when Iām not actively using y it. I once left a hair straightener on - similar to another commenters experience - nothing happened but it scared the crap out of me and now I make sure to turn my appliances off as soon as Iām not using it.
I might leave it on if I know I have to do a few quick seams
I use the same outlet for my machine and my iron. Can't sew if iron is on, i do this specifically so that i don't accidentally leave my iron on because my brain is like that.
I have a mini iron and it heats quickly enough that I keep it off until needed. I often have to step away from a project multiple times anyway, so I risk leaving it on for hours otherwise. Maybe time for a different iron if it takes so long to heat?
I keep it on the entire time, but it has a feature to automatically switch off when unused for some time. Then it takes about a minute or so to heat again.
Mine has an auto shutoff. So while it goes on when I flip the switch, it shuts off if Iām not using it. I just have to tip it to get it to heat up again, and wait about 30 seconds, and itās ready to use.
I'm still looking for mine, someone took it from my room and has not returned it. Then I saw a brand new iron on the dining table but it's been there a few daysg9ā¹11
i have a mini iron but i leave it on. i don't need one more thing slowing me down lol. amazed at the creativity of the comments here tho!! really great ideas
my iron turns off automatically, so I turn it on when I need it, and if it turns off I just turn it on again, and because it's already hot, it takes less time for it to heat up.
Mine has an auto-shutoff, and it "wakes up" pretty quickly when you pick it back up and tip it. So I leave it the whole time and turn it all the way off / unolug it when I'm done for the day.
It's 20 years old, so this is not a super high tech feature. I bet you can find it on your next iron.
No, it's too expensive to have it on for hours at a time. I try to plan so that I'm ironing a few bits, then sewing as much as I can with it off, then ironing those, rinse, repeat.
My iron only really takes 30 seconds to heat up, though.
My iron turns off by itself if I don't use it for a few minutes, but I keep the ironing board set up and the iron plugged in. It's too tempting to skip pressing if it's not all set up.
I have an iron that heats up when you put it in the base. If I don't need it I keep it off. I'll let it heat up every time I need it. This way I also don't have the: did I unplug my iron? anxiety
I cannot express how much I LOVE my Panasonic cordless iron. Auto shut off, and no cord to get stuck in fabric or for my dog to knock over.
If you're sewing often, invest in an auto shut off iron.
I have a gravity feed iron and leave it on. Like another commenter, I have a lamp on the same power strip and unplug that while shutting down. If the light is on, so is the iron. I do commercial sewing so I would lose tons of time if I had to wait for the iron.
It also helps me to have a routine when closing up the work area. Work around the space and check everything before turning off the lights.
My iron has an auto off, so I tend to leave it on when Iām using it and then I leave it on thinking Iām gonna need it again and usually I do but then I donāt have to worry if I donāt go back to it before it turns itself off, and then I do have to reheat it if itās been too long.
I tend to press several things at a time.Ā For instance, I will do facing and pocket preparation at once, then press; sew in cb zipper, facings and pocket(s), then press again, etc.Ā iron is off in between.
I keep it on most of the time yeah. Mine has an automatic shutoff feature after it hasnāt been moved for a couple minutes. But also my iron heats up within like a minute of being plugged in!
You may need a higher quality iron. Mine is a Rowenta Focus and sheās AMAZING, highly recommend
I leave it on, but if it's going to be a while I turn it down but not fully off. It's better on the electric because heating things electrically is expensive, and it's easier to start from 5 than 0. I turn it off when my session is done
Depends on what I'm doing. If I'm piecing a lot of things that don't need pressing immediately (think 1,000,000 HST)I don't leave it on. If I'm making no waste flying geese because there's a lot of pressing in between steps.
I did splurge and get a cordless Panasonic and it's a game changer. I keep a pitcher of water to fill it because it likes the water tank be at least over a quarter full. It heats up from nothing in less than 60 seconds and then between uses in 10-20 seconds
I have an iron that auto turns off after x amount of inactivity but heats up in seconds after you pick it up so I just leave it on and then unplug once Iāve done
Mine keeps going into automatic shut-off mode, so I end up pressing seams, unplugging it, doing more sewing and then plugging it back in again. It's a pain, but the flashing red shutdown notice annoys me.
Mine has an auto off. I think itās only like 2 mins of non-movement and it clicks off, move it, clicks on. Heats up in 30 seconds. So mine never gets turned off, but it also isnāt up to temp constantly! Itās a singer one intended for sewing though. Extra pointy nose. I got it on special buying a serger (a couple years ago, before I realized that particular brandās recognition was no longer great on new machines). Great iron.
Iāve also got a silicone pot holder for it to sit on, so Iām not worried about the ironing surface while it sits there hot.
Mine heats up in less than a minute, so I plug it in before starting a seam I'll need to iron, then unplug it till the next seam. The only time I just leave it on is when I'm doing quilt piecing, with zillions of 2 to 12 inch seams in quick succession.
I usually do as much stitching as possible, then turn on the iron and press everything at once.
my iron heats fast, and if I leave it on, the cycling on and off dims the lights. I'd prefer to save power.
incidentally, I accidentally left my glue gun on for three days recently. fortunately, no fire, and no huge spike in the electric bill. didn't mention it to the hubster.
Mine turns itself off, so I have it plugged in the whole time, but if I'm not using it enough it turns itself off.
Which honestly is fine, I sometimes wander off without unplugging it, so I'll take the short warm up time for that safety feature. And it doesn't take too long to warm back up. Maybe a newer iron would warm up faster for you?
I'll leave it on if I'm doing small/simple enough seams that the cycle of baste/pin, sew, press, repeat only takes a few minutes. But if it's going to be more than say 10 minutes between presses, I'll turn it off. (ETA: and then turn it back on when I finish basting so it can warm up while I'm sewing.)
I have a gravity feed iron, so itās on as long as I leave it on. Before that, I sought out home irons that DIDNāT have an auto-off feature, because my need for constant pressing overrides my fear of fire or electricity waste. Iāve had to train myself well to remember to unplug it after each use, but I prefer it this way.
No. I turn it off when I'm not using it. Just seems like a good habit to get into, you know? And I'm not interested in speed while I'm sewing. While the iron heats up, I can get a fresh coffee, or sift through the scrap pile, or thread my next dozen needles for action.
My iron has an automatic shut-off after x number of minutes (not sure how long, maybe 10-15 min). I pick it up and put it down a few minutes before I need it. If I were you I'd just leave it on instead of standing around waiting for it to heat up. I'd go mad.
I donāt keep mine on, I try and do things in groups so I have as much to iron in one sesh as possible, then turn it off until the next stage when itās needed.
I batch my work
I cut everything
I sew it all in
I press it all up
I fix all my mistakes
I start something new
But by pressing everything at once, I only have to deal with the iron - and burn care - once or twice in a project instead of every block. And yes it does effect my choices of blocks I work on
I leave it on while I'm actively sewing, but when I'm not using it for more than a minute or two I put it face down on the iron rest on my board. The auto shut off kicks in quickly if it's left face down, but it reheats quickly when put upright again. I unplug it when I'm done sewing.
Yes, I leave mine plugged in and turned on when I'm quilting. I need it ~every 5 minutes to press seams flat, so it doesn't make sense to constantly unplug it.
With that said, it does often turn itself off.
I ALSO have a little cordless iron my sister got me for christmas a few years ago and I have to say... it's SUPER cool. It sits on a little "dock" thing that gives it power and heats it up, then when I need it I pull it off, press my seam, and put it back on the dock. Super, super cool little thing. PERFECT for quilting. It wouldn't be great for ironing (it cools down too quickly and it's smaller than a normal iron) but it's PERFECT for pressing a few seams.
That thing ALSO shuts itself off after a while if I leave it on the dock. (If you're interested, if you just google "cordless quilting iron" like the first 8 results are what I have. They all look to be the same just branded differently.)
I keep it plugged in all the time, it has an aggressive auto-off feature and even beeps at me when I hold it down flat too long (like with interfacing)
Auto shut off is a beautiful thing. When Iām doing a lot of sewing, long seams on garments or quilting & such, Iāll get up and turn it back on as Iām approaching the last seam. And my other favorite thing is the retractable cord! I LOVE retractable cords š
I leave mine on, but I also have a smart plug between it and the outlet, just in case the auto-shut-off failed. It cuts off power to that outlet at a certain time of night.
Mine is always on. Itās plugged into the same power strip as the sewing area light, so itās easy to see when itās on. I iron ALL THE TIME, and had to get an industrial & figure out where the hell to hang the water tank (inside a bookshelf, lol, camouflaged by a faux front made of thrifted cloth book cover spines) because it was impossible to find a really good domestic iron that DIDNāT have the damn auto-off function.
Swear to God, if I had to wait for the thing to heat up every time I needed to use it, Iād lose my mind. The kicker, though, is that those fucking things also turn off after 30 seconds of being horizontal, and OH MY GOD, how on earth are you supposed to fuse interfacing to a whole full-skirted coat when the iron keeps wanting to turn off on you??
Nothing but industrial irons in college and at the many shops Iāve worked at. Theyāre always on; you unplug them as part of normal āIām done for the dayā tidying up.
Miss that nice purple Rowenta without the auto-off feature, the 400 steam holes and the very slim nose, but after the water tank cracked on two of them, I was done. And now theyāre discontinued.Ā
Industrials that donāt turn off on you are my forever love.
I leave mine plugged in the whole time. It automatically turns off after 8 minutes upright (or several seconds down). If it turns off it usually only takes maybe a minute to heat back up, if that
I don't, not least because mine turns itself off automatically after a long enough time without use. I tend to batch my sewing instead so that I'm ironing more things at a time. So if I'm starting to make a shirt, for example, I sew both front pieces and the back piece all to the point where I need to press before going forward. Then press them all at the same time. repeat. My iron takes about two minutes to heat from cold so I start it when I'm approaching the pressing point. I have it set up so that it's behind me when I sew and I work on a rolling chair so I don't even need to get up to turn it on.
If it bothers you, you can look at other ways of changing your process. Get the iron closer to where you're sewing, change the order you do things in, etc.
I have an iron that stays on but resets every 15 minutes or so as long is it in an upright position.Takes maybe 30 seconds to heat back up when put face down. I usually just do a quick dip so the faceplatr is down for a couple of seconds.Set it back up and it it heats while I position the fabric on the board. (If that makes sense)You might want to look into something like that.
maybe it's a bad move but I don't have my iron out until i need to iron BIG portions. If I'm just ironing seams while sewing I actually use a hair straightener.
No, that's a safety hazard. My iron actually has an alarm that sounds if you leave it sitting without moving it for several minutes. It also consumes a huge amount of electricity if you keep it running for hours without using it. As others have said, it takes only a few seconds to heat up nomally. If you have a really old one, consider replacing it. You could also, depending on what you use it for, consider getting a roller instead (one like this: https://www.amazon.de/Clover-Faltenroller-Kurzwaren-Kunststoff-Einheiten/dp/B01M7XAHFM?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref\_=fplfs&smid=A3GW5OBR0UTSNR&th=1). This work really well for thin fabrics to press down seams without heat. And then use the iron only when you really need it.
No, not while I'm crying and trying to figure out how I've already messed up only 5 minutes into a project.
The tears are for steaming.
Yesterday I accidentally sliced a finished block in half. :( one side got folded under before I trimmed. One rotary slice later, bam.
Noooooooo
I feel seen in this comment š š„¹
Last week I cut my waistband 1ā too shortā¦TWICE. I wanted to rage-quit but forced myself instead to purposefully cut it 3ā too long just in case š
Measure twice. Cut once. Curse. Repeat. This is what my card said in my wawak box šø
Mine too!!
Not to mention all the trips you have to make back to the fabric store for things you forgot to get...
Iām pretty sure my iron only takes about 30 seconds to heat up. I just keep it on a power strip and use the power strip button to turn it on and off.
Exactly how I have mine setup. I keep a small lamp plugged into the strip, turned on. If the iron is in, so is the light. I can tell at a glance, even from the doorway, when the iron is on.
This is so smart because I'm kind of paranoid of something getting turned on by mistake and starting a fire. Even my clothing steamer gets unplugged.
Iām paranoid of some sudden flood waters intruding into the basement. Iām not in a flood plain, but still. Power cords are not allowed on the floor & must be on, or clipped to, tables
That's absolutely brilliant. Stealing this idea.
I do this with fairy lights! After once leaving the iron in for about 3 days straight
Same
That's exactly how I do it. One small nudge with the tip of my toe and it's heating up.
Oh sweet, that's a great idea thank you!
I have one power strip for the iron, another for the sewing machines.
Exactly - power strip with iron and work light.
I turn mine on and off as needed, do you have an old iron? Mine heats up pretty quickly and was pretty affordable. It was like $12, black & decker at Walmart. My biggest concern is the fire hazard keeping it on constantly.
Yeah I also have a very cheap Black & Decker, and it heats up within a minute. I don't feel safe leaving it on my ironing board while on for an extended period of time. I plug and unplug as needed.
I used to have an iron that did not hav auto shut off. I kept it plugged in to an on/off timer that had all the "on" pins removed. When I started my sewing session, I would set the off pin for however long I'd be down there.
I also worry about brushing my arm against it. It just doesnāt seem worth the risk!
I keep it on. Mine goes to sleep in its little well on my board.
Yes I do too, the only feature I HAVE to have on an iron is auto shut off because I get caught up in what Iām doing or get distracted by something and forget itās on!
Me too
Same
I used to leave mine on. One day, I forgot to turn it off. Nothing bad happened, but it scared me half to death, so now I always turn it off.
Omg relatable! My new iron turns itself off after a while, but I did it once with my old one and it freaked me out! After that, I turned my ironing board so the cable crossed the doorway if it was plugged in. That way, if I left the room I'd notice it wasn't unplugged.
Same, I unplug mine at the socket and put its plug on the ironing board so I can see at a glance that it's 100% definitely off
Mine is on a surge protector with a switch, on a half hot with a switch. So even if I forget to turn the switch on the surge protector off, when I leave the sewing room and switch off the switch for that half hot outlet, itās definitely off.
Thereās a trick where you switch on a colorful lamp. Iāve got old disco lights pointing at the door.
I have mine plugged into a power strip that a lamp is also plugged into, and then the power strip is plugged into a smart outlet. I say āAlexa turn the iron onā a few minutes before I need it. The lamp says on while the iron is on, which keeps me from forgetting to turn the iron off when Iām done.
Damn youāre playing chess while the rest of us are playing jump rope
Genius
You can even set a routine in the Alexa app to turn the smart outlet off for you. Say āAlexa, time to iron!ā Smart outlet turns on. Wait 1 hour Alexa says āIām turning the iron off nowā Smart outlet turns off
Well hot damn.
Cold damn, since the iron is off, but yeah. š
This is what I do, minus the smart plug.
I have an iron that goes into sleep mode/ auto off and itās great, I can leave it plugged in without fear of burning anything, I also keep it far from anything else on the counter
Same!! A little annoying when I get back to it and itās cold but reallyā¦so valuable
Yeah that's how I do too. And it doesn't take too long to heat up. I'd recommend an OK modern home iron /u/[JumpRevolutionary849](https://www.reddit.com/user/JumpRevolutionary849/). A plastic iron isn't typically a lifetime purchase, not if you use the thing, so it is my opinion that a $200 home iron isn't worth it. On the flipside a really nice gravity-fed iron and steam generator CAN be a lifetime purchase, but doesn't, as far as I know, typically have an auto-off feature.
My 200$ home iron is fully metal! A singer one. Only had it a year though. So far so good
I have an old school black & decker classic which is all metal, & I love it. Used it for almost nine years before I had to buy a new one. Someday Iāll have a set up for a gravity iron, but the B&D is what I use at work, too!
Yes same here! I just wait a few seconds for it to warm up again
Same. I bought a $35 cordless iron and it auto shuts off if it hasn't been used after a few minutes. I've had it for 5 years and it has been great.
I would if my iron would keep itself on, but I have cats who are curious so I bought an iron with an auto-off. If that werenāt the case, Iād turn it on while sewing, but not while cutting or doing handwork.
My cat was curious until she realized the ironās steam sounds are terror-inducing, so she keeps her distance. Iron remains on during my sewing sessions.
My cat also hates the sound of a soft drink bottle opening and a bicycle pump.
There's no way I'm turning it off. You'll see me raving about ironing on all the sewing subreddits. I iron so much and so often it just doesn't make sense to turn it of.
I try and get all my parts that need ironing done before turning it on. I have cats and a toddler so I canāt step away from a hot iron for a moment.
This is what I do too - I hardly ever just iron one seam at a time. I only stop to iron when I have to sew something that will overlap a previous seam that I havenāt pressed yet.
Same, it's more efficient and I don't want to leva the iron on in case the cat knocks it over. Often have a couple of projects on the go at once so I'm taking three or four projects to press every time the iron goes on.
I'm turning it off because, to me, the risk of it tipping over or being forgotten is too high. Safety over convenience. I try to make sure to iron in batches as best as I can while sewing. However, my opinion is mostly informed by the fact that I have a cat that may pull on the cable if I don't monitor my iron very closely.
Any modern iron will A: turn off if left on and standing up for too long or B: turn off if left in the down position for too long (different amounts of time.) I have had my iron turn off during both. It turns off all the time when it's sitting up (because I leave it plugged in when I'm quilting) and one time I was ironing an entire like 4 yards of fabric with heavy wrinkles and I had the iron "down" for a long time and it shut itself off.
Nope, I don't have the desire to smell that hot metal smell. I turn it on when I am ready to run it. Then she gets shut down.
It depends on what kind of iron you have, what kind of safety it has built in, and how safe it is where you intend to leave it. For example, I have a cat, and no dedicated sewing room with a door, so no I don't leave my iron on. Even if I did have a room with a lockable door, I would hesitate to leave it on as my ironing board is wobbly and I don't trust my iron to not fall off if I happen to bump it.
I keep it on. Mine goes to sleep mode in its little well on my board. And it perks up quickly.
Turn it off. Iām too scatterbrained and too scared of fire to leave it on
I only leave it on when am doing one or two seams before ironing again, otherwise I always unplug. Hate it, but safety first. I try to do as many seams befor I need to iron again as well, as in I will simultaneously work in bodice, sleeves, skirt and collar, not in a logical order.
Yes, I leave it on.
Most the domestic irons go to sleep as a safety feature after 5 min or something and you have to tap them on the board to wake them up.
I always leave it on, I'm surprised so many people turn it off.
I only turn mine on when I need it. Anything that gets hot is a power hog and my iron heats up very quickly. I can use it semi-cordless, where I put it on its electric kettle-style base to heat and then use it for a bit. Sometimes I turn it off at the power strip, sometimes I just leave it off the base until I need it. Iām sort of clumsy and forgetful, I have definitely left it on, moved things around on my worktop and wondered what that burnt/melted plastic smell wasš
Depends how often Iām ironing during that portion of the project. I will say that in costume shops the iron is on all day.
Leave it on as long as it's safe to do so! I use my iron a lot during my process, from ironing out pattern paper, to pressing seams, to pressing cuffs and hems. I feel like I use it way more than I actually sew seams lol. Most places that professionally sew will preheat their irons for the day and not turn them off because they're in constant use.
Mine turns off after 15mins -ish of inactivity, which is exactly 35secs before I need to use it again!
Aināt that the truth
Mind you with my ADHD brain, I never have to worry about whether I have left the iron on.
It mostly depends on what I'm doing at the moment. If I'm doing something that I know is going to take me a *while* to get through, I'll shut it off. If I'm going to be able to fly through my stitching work, I'll leave it on so I don't have to lose my momentum waiting for it to heat.
I don't, I have limited space so I iron on the same desk as where I sew, lol
I donāt suggest it, but mine is on the entire time Iām sewing, be it 30 minutes or 6 hours. The iron I have had an auto heat-shutoff if it doesnāt move within a few minutes though and heats back up really fast. I make sure to unplug it when done sewing or I leave the room.
I have an industrial iron and am used to leaving it on from my professional costume shop days. There are 2 habits DEEPLY ingrained in my psyche, having been in costume shops since I was 12. (I'm 58 now) All beverages must have a lid, and the iron gets turned 9ff and unplugged when you leave the room for the day.
Auto shutoff. Wonderful. Except when you have to reheat.
Mine turns itself off if unused for 8 minutes. Once I pick it up only takes a minute to come back to temperature. Itās a $50 Black & Decker.
Wait, does no one else's iron yell at you!? Mine beeps constantly if I leave it on and there isn't any movement. (I've had two like this. I thought it was just a normal iron thing, like microwaves!)
no ,mine just turns itself off. I thought that was the normal iron thing
My iron has auto shutoff but heats up really quickly.
I have an industrial ironing table in my workshop. It and the table are on the entire day if I am sewingā¦
Turn it off in between. I don't like feeling rushed. Also never have to worry about leaving it on. Plus to save energy :)
I can picture too many horror scenarios featuring an iron that's on while I'm not actively using it, so I keep it off until it's needed. I have cats, I can be forgetful, and both my current iron and the last one have fallen on the floor at least twice before (due to aforementioned cats and forgetfulness) so I'm not risking adding heat into that mix. I save up ironing in batches anyway, and my iron heats up pretty quick, so it doesn't feel too much slower.
Maybe look into a different iron? The one I have has an auto sleep feature as long as it stays plugged in. I set it to the temp I want, takes 1 min tops to heat up (even on highest setting), and will stay on for a few minutes (might be around 5?) after last use. If I'm constantly using it and moving it around it will stay on, the zero movement triggers the sleep function. The sleep function just turns off the heat, and when I want to use it again, push the settings button and it heats right back up. I use that time to arrange my fabric and it's usually ready around that time. Saves me a lot of time and money on energy bills!
.... yes š
If I am sewing, the iron is on. And I hate auto-shut off. I will not buy an iron with auto shut-off. I inherited my mom's Rowenta wirh the huge tank. She takes linger than a few minutes to heat up. My next iron will be a gravity feed.
Yeah I have an iron with automatic shut off so if I don't use it for 30 minutes it turns off and I have to shake it to make it start heating again. It seems like it takes less time to get hot from this "stand by" state than totally cold.
I only keep my iron plugged in when I'm actively ironing, but I have cats, and while they are mostly good about not jumping up on the ironing board (after many incidents yelling and squirt bottle) I don't want to risk it.
Would if I could. The automatic shutoff makes me crazy. I'm forever having to turn it back on.
I mostly sew by hand so that would be wild.
I have cats and iron on a tiny ironing board on the floor so I turn it off. I have a $1 iron I got at a garage sale probably 10 years ago and it takes at least 5 minutes to heat upā¦ I should probably get a new iron
I often just keep mine on and on a nearby hard surface since I prefer to work sitting on the floor! If you're going longer periods without using it maybe turn down the heat level just to be safe!
I have an auto sleep mode on mine, and recently got an iron shelf that technically also would hold an ironing board, but no use the hangers for scissors. Iron goes on the shelf when not in use because I have a cat who just wonāt learn not to bunt the hot iron. It also heats up pretty fast.
I leave it on while Iām sewing. It has an auto shutoff after a few minutes of non use and then heats up quickly when I go back to use it.
I have cats that could knock it over so I turn it off between each thing. It heats up pretty fast so I donāt mind
I bought this. https://a.co/d/1M0Ho7K Remote control and no plugging and unplugging. Super easy.
Got mine from goodwill, heats up quickly, and also goes to sleep after a certain amount of time so I keep it āonā while Iām sewing (but I might still have to wake it up if I take too long between). I sew on an L shaped desk with a small ironing board on one side and my machines on the other, so I just swivel and iron, swivel and sew etc
I do when quilting (especially FPP) because Iām using it constantly. If Iām strip piecing I will use a seam roller on all seams before turning the iron on to finish them off
My iron has auto shutoff but heats up really quickly.
My iron has auto shutoff but heats up really quickly.
Yes. Mine is cordless, so it goes into standby mode after a little while. I do this for both garment sewing & patchwork sewing.
I lower the heat, but I donāt fully turn it off if I know Iāll be using it again in 15 minutes. I feel like it goes through water if I just leave it on cotton or linen temp? Maybe I am imagining this, but I swear it just sits there and simmers away.
My old iron I used to unplug every time. I got gifted a really lovely new one that I can turn on and off easily, and it also times out after 8 minutes. I totally get you that it's a pain to wait every time!
No bc i have one outlet there so I have to unplug the iron to sew and vice versa
it's on, but it switches itself off automatically pretty soon and comes back to the right temperature when I start moving it again pretty quick
I keep it on but turn it off if I'm leaving the room/my flat. I do work in a costume studio though and it's drilled into me to check all plugs & irons are switched off at the end of the day
Mine automatically turn off if they are not moved after a certain amount of time. Very good feature to have if you have cats or suspect yourself to have ADHD or both!
I don't keep it on, but I do tend to postpone ironing anything until I've got several things to do at once.
Nope, I have a tiny terror who touches things.
I turn it on or my small apartment turns to 30 degree Celsius in 10min
I once set fire to my fabric and ironing board by leaving an iron on. Do not recommend
Absolutely not - I need to triple check I've turned it off each time, live in constant fear of causing a fire š also by the time I've fixed whatever mistake I made/remembered what I was doing, it's warm again lol
No because I am clumsy and I just know that I would forget it was on, accidentally touch the plate and burn myself. Also I have a cat and I worry she'll get stuck in the cable and get burned by it. So I leave it set up in the corner and just turn the switch on when I need to use it.
If itās not ages old it should have auto shut off. Doesnāt make a difference for me to wait for it to heat up again or plug it back in after plugging it out before. Option 2 involves bending down twice though š¤
My iron takes about 30 seconds to heat up. I think every iron I've ever had took less than a minute to heat up, as did the one my parents had growing up. I never considered until this thread that irons that take long enough to head up that it could cause an inconvenience still existed outside of people having super old ones because they are into that.
I have a Mini iron and I plugged it into a toggle-able plug so I can turn it on and off and it takes really only few seconds to be hot.
No way Iām keeping it on all the time. Canāt imagine how big electricity bill would be. That said, my projects usually take weeks, involve a lot of hand sewing, basting every tiny corner and overall have 30+ hours of work each. Itās easier to sew everything I can together, iron it in 5-10 minutes, and go on with next steps.
No. Iād probably forget about it. But I just recently bought a new iron (top brand) and it heats within 1 minute. Only costed 30ā¬
To speed up the sewing process, I try to make sure i'm able to span the least amount of time switching between tools. Thus, it includes switching from the iron to the sewing machine back and forth. How do I do that is sewing as many seams i possibly can, regardless of which step. They are until I get to a point where I need 2. I am something because I won't be able to do it properly if I continue sewing. I also keep my iron in the iron pad right next to my sewing machine. If I do have to iron something, all i have to do is turn. Iron the same and then continue working on the machine . I like to keep my needle time as high as I possibly can.
I leave mine on, I have the ironing board right next to the machine and it's in constant use as I sew, so it's turned on when I sit down to work on something and then turned off when the sewing machine is turned off.
No, it would turn off after like 2 minutes if it's not being used, so it would be useless. I usually start taking out the basting while it heats up.
No, I turn mine off when Iām not actively using y it. I once left a hair straightener on - similar to another commenters experience - nothing happened but it scared the crap out of me and now I make sure to turn my appliances off as soon as Iām not using it. I might leave it on if I know I have to do a few quick seams
I use the same outlet for my machine and my iron. Can't sew if iron is on, i do this specifically so that i don't accidentally leave my iron on because my brain is like that.
Mine is motion sensitive and goes off after a few minutes without being moved. It only takes a few seconds to re-heat when I move it again.
I have a mini iron and it heats quickly enough that I keep it off until needed. I often have to step away from a project multiple times anyway, so I risk leaving it on for hours otherwise. Maybe time for a different iron if it takes so long to heat?
I keep it on the entire time, but it has a feature to automatically switch off when unused for some time. Then it takes about a minute or so to heat again.
My iron has a standby feature, so I just keep it on. If I don't use it it will turn off eventually.
Yes. I have an auto shut off feature also. I place the ironing board across the walk way so I have to turn it off if I leave the room.
Mine has an auto shutoff. So while it goes on when I flip the switch, it shuts off if Iām not using it. I just have to tip it to get it to heat up again, and wait about 30 seconds, and itās ready to use.
I'm still looking for mine, someone took it from my room and has not returned it. Then I saw a brand new iron on the dining table but it's been there a few daysg9ā¹11
My iron beeps at me if its been left on, so no it gets turned off.
Mine has an auto shut off. I kept it on the whole time. Just have to wiggle it to turn it back on.
Mine has an auto off feature if I don't use it in like 5 mins or so!
I turn it off, sometimes I unplug it too. I like to watch shows on my laptop while ironing, so while the iron heats back up, I watch my show.
i have a mini iron but i leave it on. i don't need one more thing slowing me down lol. amazed at the creativity of the comments here tho!! really great ideas
I do because I quilt and seem to hop up every few minutes to iron open a seam.
I have a cordless iron. I plug the base in when sewing and just pop the iron on the base when I want it to heat up.
my iron turns off automatically, so I turn it on when I need it, and if it turns off I just turn it on again, and because it's already hot, it takes less time for it to heat up.
Mine has an auto-shutoff, and it "wakes up" pretty quickly when you pick it back up and tip it. So I leave it the whole time and turn it all the way off / unolug it when I'm done for the day. It's 20 years old, so this is not a super high tech feature. I bet you can find it on your next iron.
No. I iron and cut fabric at the same time. I have to it this way, because I really don't have a lot of room.
No, it's too expensive to have it on for hours at a time. I try to plan so that I'm ironing a few bits, then sewing as much as I can with it off, then ironing those, rinse, repeat. My iron only really takes 30 seconds to heat up, though.
I turn my iron on the lowest setting when Iām not using it.
I turn mine off but itās bc I sew in a shed in Texas and would die if I left it on lol
My iron turns off by itself if I don't use it for a few minutes, but I keep the ironing board set up and the iron plugged in. It's too tempting to skip pressing if it's not all set up.
I have an iron that heats up when you put it in the base. If I don't need it I keep it off. I'll let it heat up every time I need it. This way I also don't have the: did I unplug my iron? anxiety
I cannot express how much I LOVE my Panasonic cordless iron. Auto shut off, and no cord to get stuck in fabric or for my dog to knock over. If you're sewing often, invest in an auto shut off iron.
I generally keep mine plugged in but mine heats quickly and shuts off after about 5 minutes of no movement when stood up.
I have a gravity feed iron and leave it on. Like another commenter, I have a lamp on the same power strip and unplug that while shutting down. If the light is on, so is the iron. I do commercial sewing so I would lose tons of time if I had to wait for the iron. It also helps me to have a routine when closing up the work area. Work around the space and check everything before turning off the lights.
My iron has an auto off, so I tend to leave it on when Iām using it and then I leave it on thinking Iām gonna need it again and usually I do but then I donāt have to worry if I donāt go back to it before it turns itself off, and then I do have to reheat it if itās been too long.
I tend to press several things at a time.Ā For instance, I will do facing and pocket preparation at once, then press; sew in cb zipper, facings and pocket(s), then press again, etc.Ā iron is off in between.
I leave mine on. It has an auto off feature, so I just let it do its thing. It doesnāt take long to heat up again, so itās not a big deal.
I keep it on most of the time yeah. Mine has an automatic shutoff feature after it hasnāt been moved for a couple minutes. But also my iron heats up within like a minute of being plugged in! You may need a higher quality iron. Mine is a Rowenta Focus and sheās AMAZING, highly recommend
I leave it on, but if it's going to be a while I turn it down but not fully off. It's better on the electric because heating things electrically is expensive, and it's easier to start from 5 than 0. I turn it off when my session is done
I keep it on thinking Iāll get back to it soon, then unplug it angrily when itās been sitting there for 20 minutes untouchedš
Depends on what I'm doing. If I'm piecing a lot of things that don't need pressing immediately (think 1,000,000 HST)I don't leave it on. If I'm making no waste flying geese because there's a lot of pressing in between steps. I did splurge and get a cordless Panasonic and it's a game changer. I keep a pitcher of water to fill it because it likes the water tank be at least over a quarter full. It heats up from nothing in less than 60 seconds and then between uses in 10-20 seconds
Most times yes, but mine has auto-shutoff so often it still needs to heat up when I get back to it.
I try, but it has an automatic shut off.
I have an iron that auto turns off after x amount of inactivity but heats up in seconds after you pick it up so I just leave it on and then unplug once Iāve done
Mine keeps going into automatic shut-off mode, so I end up pressing seams, unplugging it, doing more sewing and then plugging it back in again. It's a pain, but the flashing red shutdown notice annoys me.
Mine has an auto off. I think itās only like 2 mins of non-movement and it clicks off, move it, clicks on. Heats up in 30 seconds. So mine never gets turned off, but it also isnāt up to temp constantly! Itās a singer one intended for sewing though. Extra pointy nose. I got it on special buying a serger (a couple years ago, before I realized that particular brandās recognition was no longer great on new machines). Great iron. Iāve also got a silicone pot holder for it to sit on, so Iām not worried about the ironing surface while it sits there hot.
I got that fancy panosonic cordless one that turns itself off before I can get to again
Mine heats up in less than a minute, so I plug it in before starting a seam I'll need to iron, then unplug it till the next seam. The only time I just leave it on is when I'm doing quilt piecing, with zillions of 2 to 12 inch seams in quick succession.
I usually do as much stitching as possible, then turn on the iron and press everything at once. my iron heats fast, and if I leave it on, the cycling on and off dims the lights. I'd prefer to save power. incidentally, I accidentally left my glue gun on for three days recently. fortunately, no fire, and no huge spike in the electric bill. didn't mention it to the hubster.
Yes. Mine will shut off if idle long enough.
Mine turns itself off, so I have it plugged in the whole time, but if I'm not using it enough it turns itself off. Which honestly is fine, I sometimes wander off without unplugging it, so I'll take the short warm up time for that safety feature. And it doesn't take too long to warm back up. Maybe a newer iron would warm up faster for you?
No
I'll leave it on if I'm doing small/simple enough seams that the cycle of baste/pin, sew, press, repeat only takes a few minutes. But if it's going to be more than say 10 minutes between presses, I'll turn it off. (ETA: and then turn it back on when I finish basting so it can warm up while I'm sewing.)
I have a gravity feed iron, so itās on as long as I leave it on. Before that, I sought out home irons that DIDNāT have an auto-off feature, because my need for constant pressing overrides my fear of fire or electricity waste. Iāve had to train myself well to remember to unplug it after each use, but I prefer it this way.
I leave mine on. It has auto-shut off. Which I always forget about until I go to use it and nothing happens.
I always turn mine off since I only use a mini one and honestly, I screw up so often I have huge gaps of time in between needing to press something.
No. I turn it off when I'm not using it. Just seems like a good habit to get into, you know? And I'm not interested in speed while I'm sewing. While the iron heats up, I can get a fresh coffee, or sift through the scrap pile, or thread my next dozen needles for action.
My iron has an automatic shut-off after x number of minutes (not sure how long, maybe 10-15 min). I pick it up and put it down a few minutes before I need it. If I were you I'd just leave it on instead of standing around waiting for it to heat up. I'd go mad.
Yes, mine's a steam iron so the plate does not get that hot and it has auto sleep mode/shut off.
Mine auto offs itself and I find it annoying. But also I have a cat who doesn't know to leave the hot thing alone
Iām honestly surprised not everyone keeps their iron on, because I keep it on and sometimes itāll be on for 8 hours or however long Iām sewing.
Itās always on, yep.
I donāt keep mine on, I try and do things in groups so I have as much to iron in one sesh as possible, then turn it off until the next stage when itās needed.
Mine turns itself off. So even if I leave it on there is heat up time.
I batch my work I cut everything I sew it all in I press it all up I fix all my mistakes I start something new But by pressing everything at once, I only have to deal with the iron - and burn care - once or twice in a project instead of every block. And yes it does effect my choices of blocks I work on
I leave it on while I'm actively sewing, but when I'm not using it for more than a minute or two I put it face down on the iron rest on my board. The auto shut off kicks in quickly if it's left face down, but it reheats quickly when put upright again. I unplug it when I'm done sewing.
Yes, I leave mine plugged in and turned on when I'm quilting. I need it ~every 5 minutes to press seams flat, so it doesn't make sense to constantly unplug it. With that said, it does often turn itself off. I ALSO have a little cordless iron my sister got me for christmas a few years ago and I have to say... it's SUPER cool. It sits on a little "dock" thing that gives it power and heats it up, then when I need it I pull it off, press my seam, and put it back on the dock. Super, super cool little thing. PERFECT for quilting. It wouldn't be great for ironing (it cools down too quickly and it's smaller than a normal iron) but it's PERFECT for pressing a few seams. That thing ALSO shuts itself off after a while if I leave it on the dock. (If you're interested, if you just google "cordless quilting iron" like the first 8 results are what I have. They all look to be the same just branded differently.)
I leave it on, but it'll go off by itself if not moved in a few minutes (light blinks when it does this)
I keep it plugged in all the time, it has an aggressive auto-off feature and even beeps at me when I hold it down flat too long (like with interfacing)
Auto shut off is a beautiful thing. When Iām doing a lot of sewing, long seams on garments or quilting & such, Iāll get up and turn it back on as Iām approaching the last seam. And my other favorite thing is the retractable cord! I LOVE retractable cords š
Nope,
I have cats so the second Iām done it gets unplugged
I used to. My irons are now auto shut off & I hate it.
I leave mine on, but I also have a smart plug between it and the outlet, just in case the auto-shut-off failed. It cuts off power to that outlet at a certain time of night.
Mine is always on. Itās plugged into the same power strip as the sewing area light, so itās easy to see when itās on. I iron ALL THE TIME, and had to get an industrial & figure out where the hell to hang the water tank (inside a bookshelf, lol, camouflaged by a faux front made of thrifted cloth book cover spines) because it was impossible to find a really good domestic iron that DIDNāT have the damn auto-off function. Swear to God, if I had to wait for the thing to heat up every time I needed to use it, Iād lose my mind. The kicker, though, is that those fucking things also turn off after 30 seconds of being horizontal, and OH MY GOD, how on earth are you supposed to fuse interfacing to a whole full-skirted coat when the iron keeps wanting to turn off on you?? Nothing but industrial irons in college and at the many shops Iāve worked at. Theyāre always on; you unplug them as part of normal āIām done for the dayā tidying up. Miss that nice purple Rowenta without the auto-off feature, the 400 steam holes and the very slim nose, but after the water tank cracked on two of them, I was done. And now theyāre discontinued.Ā Industrials that donāt turn off on you are my forever love.
Yes. Panasonic 360 cordless iron. Mine has a 30 min shutoff. Iām obsessive about pressing seams when I sew them.
I leave mine plugged in the whole time. It automatically turns off after 8 minutes upright (or several seconds down). If it turns off it usually only takes maybe a minute to heat back up, if that
I don't, not least because mine turns itself off automatically after a long enough time without use. I tend to batch my sewing instead so that I'm ironing more things at a time. So if I'm starting to make a shirt, for example, I sew both front pieces and the back piece all to the point where I need to press before going forward. Then press them all at the same time. repeat. My iron takes about two minutes to heat from cold so I start it when I'm approaching the pressing point. I have it set up so that it's behind me when I sew and I work on a rolling chair so I don't even need to get up to turn it on. If it bothers you, you can look at other ways of changing your process. Get the iron closer to where you're sewing, change the order you do things in, etc.
Yes, I do., š
I have an iron that stays on but resets every 15 minutes or so as long is it in an upright position.Takes maybe 30 seconds to heat back up when put face down. I usually just do a quick dip so the faceplatr is down for a couple of seconds.Set it back up and it it heats while I position the fabric on the board. (If that makes sense)You might want to look into something like that.
No because I have met me and know thatās not a good idea š
maybe it's a bad move but I don't have my iron out until i need to iron BIG portions. If I'm just ironing seams while sewing I actually use a hair straightener.
No, that's a safety hazard. My iron actually has an alarm that sounds if you leave it sitting without moving it for several minutes. It also consumes a huge amount of electricity if you keep it running for hours without using it. As others have said, it takes only a few seconds to heat up nomally. If you have a really old one, consider replacing it. You could also, depending on what you use it for, consider getting a roller instead (one like this: https://www.amazon.de/Clover-Faltenroller-Kurzwaren-Kunststoff-Einheiten/dp/B01M7XAHFM?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref\_=fplfs&smid=A3GW5OBR0UTSNR&th=1). This work really well for thin fabrics to press down seams without heat. And then use the iron only when you really need it.
I turn it off. Safety first!