How to Steam Tulle

Contributor

By Antonia H
eHow Contributing Writer

Article Rating: (0 Ratings)

Tulle is a lightweight, semi-opaque fabric most often used for formal dresses, such as wedding dresses. Tulle is very delicate and must be treated with extra care to ensure that it does not snag, rip, burn or tear. Ironing a tulle garment as if it were a cotton shirt is a bad idea and such treatment will melt holes through the piece, ruining it. Like all other fabrics, it does wrinkle. Although hanging tulle for a few days will remove some of the wrinkles, steaming the tulle is a more effective solution.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Tulle
Clothing steamer

Step 1

Add water and preheat the clothing steamer according to the manufacturer's directions.
Step 2

Hang the tulle and brush any visible wrinkles out.
Step 3

Take the steamer nozzle in one hand and use the other to pull sections of the tulle taut. Work in sections with your steamer, moving on to the next section only after the section that you are working on is completely de-wrinkled.
Step 4

Turn off the steamer and hang the tulle so that it is unobstructed to make sure that no new wrinkles form in the fabric.

Tips & Warnings

If the wrinkling is only minor, hang the tulle in a bathroom and turn on a a hot shower. The steam from the shower will work to unwrinkle the tulle. Be careful to not allow any water from the shower to get on the tulle. If you don't have a steamer, but you do have an iron with a steam setting, turn the iron all the way to the complete steaming setting. Lay the tulle on the ironing board and use your hand to brush any visible wrinkles flat. Float the iron a few inches above the tulle and let the steam do the work. Make sure not to touch the iron to the tulle.
Don't touch the nozzle of the steamer directly to the fabric, as this could be detrimental to the tulle. Instead, hold the nozzle a few inches away from the tulle. Steaming tulle can soften it in some cases. This may or may not be a desired outcome. If your tulle softens while steaming, but you prefer that it be stiff, use fabric starch to stiffen it back up.