How to Iron Gathers

A tutorial, today!  Sometimes you need to iron a garment with gathers; if you put the iron right on top of the gathered area, you'll cause creases and make the area flat instead of full, so you need a different technique. 

TUTORIAL: IRONING GATHERS

Here is my appliquéd fish dress, which has a full skirt gathered at the waist.  I'm right handed, so I lay the garment down with the gathers on the left side.  You can't see my hands in these pictures, because I'm holding a camera instead, so bear in mind that the iron is in my right hand, and I use my left hand to occasionally lift the gathered seam up off the ironing board. 

Start with the iron at the bottom of the skirt, where the fabric can lie flat.  Make sure the fabric is flat under the iron (no creases), and push the iron, point first, toward the gathers. 

Keep the pointy tip of the iron pointing at the gathers, and iron slowly.  Make sure that the tip pushes excess folds away, rather than running over them. 

Use your left hand to lift the gathered seam slightly, to make room for the iron in the well of fabric.  When the pointy tip of the iron gets to the gathers, push lightly into the seam.  At no point should the fabric bunch up under the iron. 

Retreat and start again at the bottom. With each push of the iron, aim at a different spot on the gathered seam, working your way around the garment. 

If it helps you to visualize, imagine that the iron is a great ship, plowing through the water.  The excess folds and material at the "prow" part and give way for the ship, instead of being pulled under it.