[greenjulie]

I have been sewing for many years and have never solved this problem. Even after I wash and iron my fabric, I am often left with a trace of the fold line. What do you do about this?

[Masha Richart]

Hoping someone has an answer – I have some Swiss dot with a very stubborn crease.

[Sarvi]

If washing and ironing won’t do it, I don’t know that anything else will, but could you try steaming it? I wonder if rolling it between your fingers perpendicular to the fold line would help push the fibers back into place…

[meleliza]

I can’t say I’ve ever had this problem. Occasionally, it’s stubborn, I guess. Have you tried ironing it wet? What about starch? That stuff can work miracles.

The only time I can’t remove a crease is when I’m letting out a hem. You know how the Fairy Tale dress has a 4″ double folded hem? That is apparently standard in heirloom garments so you can let it down. So if I let out the hem or a dress that’s been worn and washed and ironed for a year with then hem in place, I can’t remove that crease. If you browse the topic of heirloom sewing, you’ll find all kinds of ways to cover up that crease. Ribbons, embroidery, lace inserts, fancy stitches, etc. Maybe that would help?

If the fabric is left with the ironed crease for a long time, that might affect how hard it is to remove.

[Nicole]

Usually wetting it and letting it sit and then pressing works for me.

Do you line dry or tumble dry? I often wonder if tumble dried fabric behaves a bit differently.

[Sherry]

I had an old book (really old) that had household hints and their suggestion for “setting pleats” was to spray material with a mixture of water and vinegar and place brown paper over the top then iron on the paper. I tried it with some badly creased satin and it work well.

I would test on a small scrap just to make sure it doesn’t leave a water mark on your material.

Good luck

[greenjulie]

Thanks for the ideas.