No-one can say exactly when people
started trying to press cloth smooth,
but we know that the Chinese were using
hot metal for ironing before anyone else.
Meanwhile people in Northern Europe
were using stones, glass and
wood for smoothing.
These continued in use for "ironing" in
some places into the mid-19th century,
long after Western blacksmiths started
to forge smoothing irons
in the late Middle Ages.
If you make the base of your iron
into a container you can put glowing
coals inside it and keep it hot a bit longer.
The pictures below are of my Grandmothers
charcoal iron, the air holes allow the
charcoal to keep smouldering.
These are sometimes called ironing boxes,
or charcoal box irons, and may
come with their own stand.
View complete History of ironing here.
The first Singer sewing machines,
manufactured in New York,
sold for $100 each in 1853.
A Singer sewing machine
was awarded a
"first prize"
at the World's Fair
in 1855 in Paris.
In 1858 the first lightweight domestic
machine, the "Grasshopper," was introduced.
View the complete
Singer Sewing Machine History here
My Homage to Domesticity
Felt Embellishment Apron
&
White Bella Felt Frame
An Inspirational Poem
If Home is Where The Heart is ...
by John McLeod
If Home is Where The Heart is ...
by John McLeod
If Home is where the heart is
Then may your Home be blessed
A shelter from the storms of Life
A place of rest,
And when each day is over
And toil put in its place
Your Home's dear warmth
Will bring its smile
To light the saddest face!
Then may your Home be blessed
A shelter from the storms of Life
A place of rest,
And when each day is over
And toil put in its place
Your Home's dear warmth
Will bring its smile
To light the saddest face!
