468 Part 5 Sewing Techniques up your pressing equipment. This includes your iron, ironing board, pressing ham, and press cloth. Follow these guidelines for pressing as you sew: • Set the iron at the correct temperature. Determine the temperature setting by the fi ber content of the fabric. Press a scrap of your fabric to check the tem- perature setting before you begin. If the iron temperature is too hot, it will stick to the fabric, cause puckers in the fabric, or melt the fabric. • Remember that pressing is not ironing. Pressing is lifting the iron and setting it down again on the fabric. The heat, steam, and weight of the iron do the work. The iron is not moved back and forth, as in ironing. Pressing is usually all that is needed during garment con- struction. Ironing is often done after laundering to remove wrinkles. • Press all seams and darts before they are crossed with other lines of stitching. • Press seams fl at fi rst, and then press them open. • Press darts from the widest end to the point. Press vertical darts toward the garment center and horizontal darts downward. • Press curved seams and darts over a rounded surface such as a pressing ham. The pressing ham allows curved garment sections to lie smoothly against the fi rm, rounded surface. • Press on the wrong side (underside) of the garment whenever possible. This will prevent a shine from appearing on the outside of the garment. Seams and darts can be easily pressed from the wrong side. • If you must press on the right side, use a press cloth, especially with dark fabrics. A press cloth can be dampened if more steam is needed. 26-38 Pressing as you sew yields professional-looking results. With practice and experience, you can become an expert. Simplicity Pattern Co.