Press cloth for interfacing?

[joeychen]

Hey sewing ladies, I have a question about interfacing. I'm making a t-shirt quilt for my sis, have cut out all the squares, and am now ready to iron on interfacing to them.

The interfacing instructions refer to using a press cloth - what is that exactly?
Is that something I should go out and buy, or can I use something else at home (towel, dishtowel?)
thanks!

Comments

[scarletwench.livejournal.com]

I think a plain white dish towel should be fine, or a piece of muslin. It's just so the iron doesn't have direct contact with your fabric.

[suhl.livejournal.com]

I use a pillowcase. If you only want one layer of it, you can slip it over the end of the ironing board.

[dazzlynn.livejournal.com]

i use a light weight dish cloth

[joeychen.livejournal.com]

do I mist the press cloth, or just keep it dry?

[kickarse.livejournal.com]

Dry is fine.

[clynne.livejournal.com]

Like everyone else has said, a press cloth is any lightweight cloth you put between the iron and what you're pressing. The purpose is to keep the heat from being directly applied to the piece you're ironing. It diffuses the heat a little bit -- not just turning the temp lower, but allowing it to be applied longer while reducing the chance of singeing. In the case of an iron-on product, it also reduces the chance of getting gunk on your iron, or of gunk causing melt-marks on your finished piece.

"Gunk" being a technical term, of course.