Please help me- re: hs uniform skirts

amother

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 12:54 pm

Please teach me how to iron a pleated uniform skirt. My daughter wants the skirts to look brand new and have perfect pleats. I bring them to the cleaners sometimes and they come out perfect but the next day something will spill and it just doesn’t pay to spend on the cleaners.
Last night she had a perfectly pleated skirt from the cleaners but she insisted she can’t wear it because she already wore it for 3 days. I gave her another skirt I washed and ironed but she complained about the pleats. She was right. I’m not taking care of the pleats properly.
How can I get a woolen pleated uniform skirt to look perfect without the cleaners?

Tia

amother

Starflower

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 1:18 pm

# 1: Show her how to iron and step iut of it. She is old enough and you are not her dry cleaners. You wash and hang it. If that is not enough for her then she can take it from there. Just IMO.

#2: The only way it will ever look like new is if it is sent to the dry cleaners. Not practical and very expensive. But again, if she babysits and makes money and SHE wants to soend on that, then kol hakavod. Not you. Again, just IMO.

I buy two skirts so they can change during the week. That is enough. I wash, hang to dry and finito. After that it is up to them.

amother

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 1:19 pm

amother Starflower wrote:

And do your girls iron their skirts or they don’t care enough about it?

amother

Lightgreen

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 1:22 pm

Can you get a steamer? that might be easier than ironing.

When I was in high school we'd send the skirts to the cleaner to be pressed only. Still costly, but a bit cheaper than getting them cleaned.

mha3484

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 1:24 pm

I agree with star flower. I think its a great skill to learn. I did laundry starting in 10th grade and I think was a good age to learn. My brother learned to iron in high school because he didn't like that my mother took too long to get to it so he figured it out himself. These are such good life skills.

amother

Oldlace

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 1:24 pm

My girls wear the poly/wool uniforms. The pleats look great after washing on delicate. I send it in to press every couple of months.

amother

Moonstone

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 1:32 pm

Are you washing the skirts with warm water? Heat puts pleats in but also takes them out. You need to wash in cold water, gently cycle and hang the skirts immediately.

amother

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 1:34 pm

amother Lightgreen wrote:

Can you get a steamer? that might be easier than ironing.

When I was in high school we'd send the skirts to the cleaner to be pressed only. Still costly, but a bit cheaper than getting them cleaned.

I tried that. It was $8 just to press. But is it worth it? Of course sometimes it’s fine but 2x each week is a lot more than when I wash a skirt at home.

amother

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 1:35 pm

amother Moonstone wrote:

Are you washing the skirts with warm water? Heat puts pleats in but also takes them out. You need to wash in cold water, gently cycle and hang the skirts immediately.

Of course I’m washing in cold water! It’s a dark color…

ra_mom

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 2:16 pm

Turn the skirt inside out (so the outside doesn't get rubbed out shiny). Ok now this sounds weird - but it works. Tape down the pleats on the bottom of the inside of the skirt, almost like a hem going all the way around, with masking tape. Now you can iron down the skirt inside out very easily! When you get to ironing the bottom of the skirt you can start peeling off the tape as you go. The tape can handle a bit of the iron. But don't go heavy on ironing on top of the tape.

I wouldn't do this twice a week though. If she wants it pressed every time it's washed, you'll probably have to show her how to do it so she can make it happen some of the time.

amother

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 2:19 pm

ra_mom wrote:

Thanks! I’ll try this.

amother

Lightgreen

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 2:24 pm

amother OP wrote:

I tried that. It was $8 just to press. But is it worth it? Of course sometimes it’s fine but 2x each week is a lot more than when I wash a skirt at home.

That is a lot.

I like my steamer idea but no idea if it'll help.

Chayalle

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 2:31 pm

I wash DD's skirts inside a net bag and I find it takes out less of the pleats that way. But it's not a wool skirt. So not sure this will help you, just posting in case it does.

amother

Starflower

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 2:46 pm

amother OP wrote:

And do your girls iron their skirts or they don’t care enough about it?

They come out looking perfectly fine and nice. Definitely not looking “just bought” as they obviously have been worn.

They are fine with it but as time goes on they might want to iron them.

I think they are “fine” with them because they know I will NOT iron them but that THEY have to… interesting how that happens…

amother

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 2:58 pm

Chayalle wrote:

I wash DD's skirts inside a net bag and I find it takes out less of the pleats that way. But it's not a wool skirt. So not sure this will help you, just posting in case it does.

I was thinking about using a large mesh bag… I have one skirt in the machine now with masking tape. Maybe next time I’ll use masking tape in the mesh bag.

amother

Caramel

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 3:27 pm

I only wash laundry once a week so my daughter has 6 skirts. I wash them on a cold quick wash because I don't think they're very dirty. I also allow her to give them in to press about every 2 months.

amother

Hyssop

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 4:25 pm

I find that running the skirts through the dryer on air dry actually helps them look much nicer. Air dry is usually a timed dry so set a timer to match and pull them out and give them a good shake as soon as it ends. (I do mine for 100 min because that’s the longest it does.) They look much better than ones that are hung wet (people often assume I iron them). One of my dds actually cared how her uniform looked and this method was acceptable to her. If she’s home when laundry gets done, it’s her job to run & pull out the skirts.

mamaleh

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 4:27 pm

amother Caramel wrote:

I only wash laundry once a week so my daughter has 6 skirts. I wash them on a cold quick wash because I don't think they're very dirty. I also allow her to give them in to press about every 2 months.

6 skirts? Is this a high school girl? Most people I know buy 2 or maybe 3. The girls can wear them more than once.

amother

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 4:30 pm

amother Caramel wrote:

I only wash laundry once a week so my daughter has 6 skirts. I wash them on a cold quick wash because I don't think they're very dirty. I also allow her to give them in to press about every 2 months.

That’s a bit excessive…
I bought my daughter 2 new skirts this year. She has a few skirts from last year that I thought she would wear but she actually doesn’t- says they look pilled when you look closely.
Maybe my daughter could use 1 more skirt but we’re really managing fine with 2. It’s just the pleating issue after it’s washed that we’re having…
I never heard of a hs girl with 6 skirts.. 🤷‍♂️

amother

Hunter

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 4:32 pm

I think taping the bottom is only while your pressing it. It will 'unstick' from getting washed...