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| My new flat iron |
Recently I purchased a $10 flat iron at a big box store near my house. This is supposed to straighten your hair, which makes it a pretty funny purchase since my hair is straight as a stick naturally. But I didn't buy it to style my hair—I bought it to help tame threads.
As you can see in the photo, I bought the simplest model available. It has an on-off switch that is inside the area that you clamp over the threads, so the off/on switch is not visible in the photo. You plug it in the wall, turn it on, and wait for it to heat up. You can buy a fancier model with a longer cord, temperature controls, etc. but I didn't bother as I'm only using this on threads that have bends in them from being wrapped around cards. If you already have a flat iron that you use on your hair, you might want to invest in one just for threads. I'm told that hair spray and hair conditioners build up on the flat iron's surfaces and might come off on your threads. This was cheap enough that I can use it just for threads.
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| Neon Rays, Fresh off the Card |
Neon Rays are notorious for being hard to handle and having crimps in them when you cut a length off the card, so I thought I'd use them to test my flat iron. I cut 5-6 lengths, each about 18 inches long, so that I would have plenty to use in my current project without having to get the flat iron out.
I plugged in my flat iron, turned it on, and after a minute or so I picked out a length of Neon Rays, held it near the end with one hand, clamped the flat iron over the end of the thread near my fingers, and slid it down the full length of the thread. Nothing happened! I checked the heat of the flat iron and realized I'd not given it enough time to warm up. Brands will vary but my basic version needs two-three minutes before it is warm enough to use.
After another wait, I tried again. This time each strand came through the flat ironing process smooth and sleek.
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| Smooth and Sleek After Flat Ironing |
The flat iron definitely works! My Neon Ray lengths look about a thousand percent better and I think it will all stitch up nicely. I will probably use it with other flat threads with kinks such as Flair and ribbon floss. My cheap version doesn't get really hot so I am not worried about melting a thread. I will test first, though, just to make sure.
Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright August 7, 2018 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.
5 comments:
I got a cheap one from Amazon a while back, and it worked great. Then I heard about one that's rechargeable via USB, an advantage if one is at a class or workshop where electrical outlets are unavailable because you can take a battery pack with you to recharge if necessary. It's wonderful too! Now if only I had a chance to find out how long the charge lasts. Hahahahahaha. But I'm prepared!
I love my flat iron. I use it to not only iron ribbon like threads, but also my floss--Splendor, DMC, etc. It makes a big difference.
I also use one that's rechargeable, not a plug-in. This is perfect for seminar where plug-in tools are not welcome. Also, mine was a bit more expensive, but it heats up immediately, well almost immediately--3 to 4 seconds.
I hadn't thought about using it on flosses, Brenda. I'll try it tonight! I didn't know that these things were available as cordless rechargeable but that makes sense, especially for those who travel to classes and need a quick touch-up for their threads. It'll make you two very popular in class. There will be a line waiting for your flat iron magic!
I also use a flat iron on my threads that come off a card. When I iron my Neon Rays and other flat threads I leave just a little of the kinks so that I can distinguish between the right and wrong sides of the ribbon (my tension is tight enough that you can't tell it wasn't completely straight).
Neat tip, Bobbi! I never thought of using the kinks to tell the side differences!
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