Nepedia
Back to Discover
Independent Reader
📖

Ironing

language culture Maturity 11-13 Next article →

Ironing makes clothes look neat and smooth.

Ironing a shirt
Ironing a shirt

People use a tool called an iron to remove wrinkles. The iron gets very hot. This heat helps change the fabric. Inside the cloth, there are tiny parts called molecules. The heat lets these molecules move. The weight of the iron then straightens them. They stay in their new shape when they cool.

Flat-iron-stove 2
Flat-iron-stove 2

Some fabrics like cotton need water to help. This makes the tiny parts easier to move.

People have ironed clothes for a long time. The first use of hot metal was in China. In 1882, Henry Seely made the electric iron. Later, people made new tools to help. Sarah Boone made a better ironing board in 1892. It helped people iron shirt sleeves well. Tailors also use a tool called a tailor's ham. This is a stuffed pillow shaped like a ham. It helps press curved parts like collars. Some shops use a large steam press. This machine does the work for many clothes at once.

167 words

Where will your curiosity go next?

Keep exploring at your chosen reading level.

🖼️ Images & Media (2)
File:Ironing a shirt.jpg
Ironing a shirt.jpg
File:Flat-iron-stove 2.jpg
Flat-iron-stove 2.jpg
More to explore

✨ What else?

Related topics you might enjoy

🔬 Go deeper

More advanced topics to explore

🪜 Step back

Simpler topics to build understanding

What is Nepedia?

A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.