How to Starch & Iron Men's Dress Shirts

Starch aids your iron in giving your shirts a crisp, wrinkle-free look.

Laundry starch is used to add rigidity and "body" to fabrics, in addition to creating limited stain resistance and simplifying the ironing of clothing such as dress shirts. Starch is best used with shirts made of cotton or synthetic cotton blends. Despite its benefits, heavy starching can lead to fabric drying and fraying, shortening the life of your dress shirt. Plus, starch residue can collect over time inside creased areas such as collars and wrist cuffs. With the aid of starch, however, ironing your dress shirts becomes less of a hassle and leaves your shirts with a crisp look.

Things You'll Need

• Laundry starch
• Iron
• Ironing board
• Spray bottle of water (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat up your iron and fill up the spray reservoir with water, if available. Otherwise, keep a spray bottle of cool water handy. The proper iron setting is high for 100 percent cotton shirts and medium for cotton blends.

2. Lay the unbuttoned shirt face down on the ironing board and spread out the collar. Apply a light layer of starch spray across the collar and iron it from side to side.

3. Flip the shirt over and flatten it on the board. Apply a light layer of starch to the inside of the collar.

4. Open one of the wrist cuffs and spread it out. Apply a layer of starch to the cuff. Then iron it until it is straight and flat. Repeat this step for the other cuff.

5. Place a sleeve onto the board lengthwise. Flatten the sleeve by pulling toward each of the seams to avoid fabric bunching. Spray a layer of starch across the entire sleeve then iron it flat. Flip the shirt and do the same maneuver with the other side of the sleeve. Repeat this step for the other sleeve.

6. Lay the shoulder area of the shirt out across the small end of the ironing board. Spray a layer of starch along the length of the shoulders. Iron the shoulder area of the shirt until it is wrinkle-free.

7. Lay one side of the front of the shirt on the board while allowing the rest of the shirt to hang off of the board. Spray a layer of starch onto the shirt and iron until dry. Repeat this step for the other side.

8. Flatten out the back of the shirt onto the board and cover it completely with starch. Iron out the wrinkles until dry.

References

• Ties-Necktie: Starching Mens Dress Shirts
• Shirts My Way: How To Iron A Dress Shirt