Hello Ladies and Gents,
Todays blog topic is Wool Pressing Mats. I do not currently own a wool pressing mat, but I have heard lots of good things about them and seen people bring them to classes at the shop. As you may or may not have noticed, I liked to do lots of research and find as much information as possible before I make a decision. It does not matter if I am buying a car, or a wool pressing mat. Since Country Sampler recently started carrying them, I decided it was time to do some hunting and see what all the talk was about. After reading lots of reviews, a couple blogs, watching some you tube videos and polling the shop, here is what I learned.
So first of all, your wool pressing mat needs to be 100% natural wool. Anything including man made fibers is no good, as it will scorch under high heat. Wool is very unique in the way that it absorbs and holds heat. This is why it was used for sweaters and inside quilts, to keep you toasty warm. It is naturally fire resistant. Being 100% wool makes a pressing mat a little spendy, so if you see a ‘good deal’ make sure it isn’t too good to be true. The label needs to read ‘all natural 100% Wool Felt’.
Felt you might ask? For those of us who do not dabble in wool projects, Felted Wool or Wool Felt might be a foreign fabric. So to quote American Felt and Craft:
“Felted starts the process as a wool or wool blend woven fabric. To make something “felt” (a verb) or “felted” (an adjective) implies washing a pre-woven, or knitted, wool or wool blend fabric in hot water to agitate it and force the fibers to lock making it impossible to untangle or loosen the fiber.”
This means your wool pressing mat is very dense. The denseness of the wool absorbs heat and traps it in the pressing pad. This allows the seam being pressed to receive heat from both sides at the same time. Not only does this increase your pressing efficiency, it also to creates a much flatter seam. One review claimed it cut her regular pressing time in half. In addition the small give in the wool surface almost absorbs seams and stitches creating an extra flat press. Overall, using a wool pressing mat means a better, faster press.
The other positive of the closely packed wool fibers is they hold your fabric in place while it it being pressed. This helps to maintain the fabric shape and avoid any stretching. For those us who sometimes ‘iron’ instead of ‘press’ (you know who you are), this is a plus. As quilters we are continually working with bias cuts, such as half square triangles or flying geese, these edges tend to stretch and can warp. A wool pressing mat uses it’s texture to hold them tightly in place stopping things from shifting.
Although this does not apply to me, the wool pressing mat also works very well for embroidery. Whether it is hand or machine embroidery, often times after adding all of those stitches the fabric wants to pucker. Wool pressing mat to the rescue! Just like it flattens seams, it also flattens puckers out of embroidery.
As for thickness, 1/2 inch seems to be the best option. There are vendors several offering felted wool anywhere from 1/8 an inch to a full inch. The 1/2 inch thickness allows enough room to trap the heat and created the double sided pressing effect, however it is also thick enough that the heat cannot make it to the surface below the pad. This means your wool pressing pad can be used anywhere, without danger of doing damage to the surface below it. It could rest right beside your sewing machine!
The beauty of the wool pressing mat is that due to it’s nature it can be used on any surface without worry of heat doing damage, as long as it is dry heat. If you are pressing with dry heat, no problems. They can be used with or without steam, but keep in mind that the wool will absorb the steam with the heat. It is possible for the moisture from the steam to make it all the way through the surface below.
There is some debate as to whether steam will warp and distort the small pieces in blocks. Some people love steam, some people don’t. Just keep in mind if you are using steam the moisture could injure the surface below your pressing pad, and the pad may need to be moved after use to dry both it and the surface.
Several Quilter’s noted that their wool mat turned brown or scorched they used it. After speaking with the ladies that work in the shop, none of them have had this issue. They all press on high heat as you would normally, however, they only use water or Best Press with their wool pressing mat. They also said Best Press was used sparingly. I can imagine that if starch was used on the mat, this could cause browning, as the starch would essentially ‘cook’ on the Matt. I also suspect that browning or scorching may be related to the quality of the material used in the product.
Other small tidbits to keep in mind...
Corners.
Rounded corners are another attribute to be aware of when purchasing a mat. In one place I read the rounded corners decrease the likelihood that you catch things on it, and as a result decrease wear and tear. In another place, it said that rounding the corners increased the cost and was not worth it. So to each their own!
Aroma.
Also noted by many people, when you press on the wool pad there is warmed wool aroma. As with all smells, everyone has their own reaction, but be aware that this is normal. Lots of Quilters work with wool on a regular basis, so this does not bother them. Others cannot get past the smell.
Pin-able
Unrelated to the iron, your pressing mat can also act as a pin-able design board. It can hold you blocks in place while you stitch them, and double as your ironing surface!
Size
Now, what size is the best option? The purpose of our wool pressing mat is to create nice, flat, crisp seams in our blocks. In my mind, this means that the pressing mat should be a about the size of the blocks that I regularly stitch. Standard quilt block sizes range from 6” square to 15” square.
Currently, Country Sampler is carrying 9x9”, 13x13” and 17X17” sizes. There are a wide variety of sizes out there, the important point here is that you choose a size that works for you.
Personal preference and budget are big part of this decision. Wool is somewhat expensive, so the larger the mat the larger the cost.
If you want your entire quilt block to fit on the pressing mat then the larger size is for you. If it is going in your camper, and small projects are on the agenda the smallest size is the best option.
Deb spoke with the Wooly Felted Wonders folks at quilt market in the spring, and they said their most popular size is 13 1/2”x13 1/2”. They are one of two types of mats we have at the shop. The second is by Precision Quilting Tools, the brand carried by United notions.
All of those things considered, some Quilter’s want a surface large enough to do all their ironing on a wool pressing surface. So there are wool pressing pads that could cover a whole table!
So.....up to this point, I had never pressed on a wool mat. Thanks to Jody, who also works at the shop, I got the chance!
As many of you know our block of the month, Mineral Matrix, is currently on it’s 5th month. I am participating, but had not had the chance to starts my blocks yet, so this was the perfect opportunity.
The first block includes 4 flying geese. So I decided to press two on my ironing board and two on the wool pressing mat. I used only dry heat and was surprised at the difference! The wool pressing mat set did appear much flatter.
The more intersecting seams I sewed, the more I felt I saw a difference in the two versions. The wool mat definitely pressed flatter. I took photos, but I think it is difficult to see the difference in the photos, that is apparent in person.
Another interesting note, sometimes when I press on my ironing board the texture of either the board or the iron is present in the fabric after I have finished pressing. The wool mat eliminated this problem.
After assembling the finished 12 1/2 inch square block I gave it a good press. The pressing mat was 12” x24” so I did have to shift my block up and down to press the entire thing. This leads me to believe that the 13 1/2”x 13 1/2” is the most popular for a reason! Overall, I was happy with the results. Until, I realized that all of my corner units were facing the wrong direction, and I was going to have to take the whole thing apart.
After some quality time with my seam ripper, and a second attempt at assembly, I decided to try it with steam. Steam also worked wonderfully. Dry heat or steam heat, I did not notice any strange smells.
Mineral Matrix is an all batik block of the month, so I have not had the opportunity to use it on printed fabric. Batiks are a tighter weave than printed fabric and have a tendency to be a little stiff. I feel they are a little more difficult when it comes to pressing, so if the mat works this well with batiks, it can only get better with prints.
I can see how it would be easily travel-able to a quilt retreat, or a friends house. There are a variety of size options, so a small size could easily be used in your camper, right next to your sewing station, or take up little space in a small apartment or dorm room.
The verdict is.......Wool pressing mats work pretty darn well! I might need one.
Do you own a wool pressing mat? How did you feel about it? Did I miss anything important that people need to know about? Let us know in the comments!
Until next time! Happy sewing.
Molly R-D
