How to Iron Satin Bridesmaid Dresses: a Step By Step Guide

Satin is known for being wrinkle resistant, but that is not to say that it never wrinkles. Your satin bridesmaid dress can still end up wrinkled during transport. Sometimes, the garment bag does not protect the dress perfectly from becoming wrinkled and creased!

You may wonder what to do. After all, satin is a delicate fabric, and overhandling it can cause damage. Luckily, if you do it right, you can still iron satin without it ruining your garment.

Read on to learn more about caring for satin, and for a step by step guide on how you can iron your satin bridesmaid dress in a pinch!

Understanding Satin Fabric

As we went over previously, satin is a delicate fabric. It’s important to understand the textile and its qualities before you try to iron it, so that you can avoid doing so in a way that the fabric will respond poorly to.

For example, satin is typically made up of manmade fibers such as polyester and rayon. Manmade fibers are more sensitive to heat, which tells you that you should be very careful when applying heat to satin fabric. Otherwise, you could see damage like warping or scorching.

Another thing to note is that satin is technically not the fabric at all! Rather, satin refers to the weave pattern of a textile. This means that there can be many different types of satin, made from different blends of fibers.

Each type of satin has varying characteristics that you should take into account when caring for it. For example, duchesse satin is thicker and stiffer than charmeuse satin, and may hold up better to an iron.

On the other hand, lighter weight satins like messaline or charmeuse satin may require more delicate care.

Preparations Before Ironing Satin Fabric

Once you have identified the type of satin your bridesmaid dress is, you can prep the garment to be ironed. Be sure that you check the care instructions on the tag inside the dress first, too.

Set up your space with everything you need to iron your satin bridesmaid dress correctly. You will need your iron, and an ironing board. A thin cotton heat press cloth is not required, especially if you are ironing in your hotel room before the event, but it is strongly recommended.

Next, fill the steamer iron with water and turn the dress inside out on the ironing board as the iron begins to heat up. You always want to iron on the inside of the garment, rather than on the outer fabric.

Once these preparations are complete, all you have to do is wait for the iron to heat up and you can iron out the wrinkles from your dress!

Can You Iron Satin?

Satin garments are often recommended to be dry cleaned, and many people are afraid of handling them at all on their own. Luckily, as long as you do it right, you can still care for your satin garment at home without the help of a professional.

In the case of any creases or wrinkles, you can still iron satin. It is an easy fix! You simply have to be careful. For example, make sure that your iron is on the proper heat setting and that you are ironing on the inner side of the fabric.

Applying steam to your satin garment with a steam iron is a surefire way to gently remove any wrinkles and creases before you need to wear it!

What Temperature to Iron Satin

Since satin is usually composed of manmade fibers, you will need to ensure you only use low heat settings to iron this textile. Many models of iron will have different heat settings for different fabrics.

This makes it easy to set the iron to the heat setting marked “satin” or “synthetic materials” and know that you are using the correct heat level for your garment.

It is fairly foolproof, though you should still test the heat level by ironing a small area of the fabric on the inside of the garment first.

However, it’s entirely possible that your iron does not have a satin specific heat setting. In that case, you may want to know more details about the temperature you need to iron satin at.

Your iron may have simple setting like low, medium, and high. You can set your iron to low or medium settings for satin. The perfect temperature range for ironing satin is between 110°C and 150°C, which corresponds to the low and medium heat setting range.

If you are especially worried about damaging your satin fabric, it is safest to keep your iron at the lowest heat setting. It may not iron out wrinkles quite as fast as if you had the iron set to medium, but it will be gentler on the fabric and will prevent damages caused by high heat.

The steam button on your iron also helps to steam out wrinkles and creases very well.

How to Iron Satin: Step by Step

Ironing your satin bridesmaid dress is easier than you might think! There are only a couple steps, and then, if wrinkles still remain, you simply repeat the steps until you’ve ironed out these wrinkles the best you can.

Take a look below for our step by step guide to ironing your satin bridesmaid dress.

1. Turn your dress inside out and arrange it on the ironing board so the wrinkles are visible.
2. If the area is extremely wrinkly, spritz it with some clean water. If the wrinkles are not too bad, you can skip this step.
3. Use a press cloth on top of the iron head and apply heat to the wrinkles, ironing them out.
4. Apply steam to the wrinkles with the iron’s steam button to aid in wrinkle removal.
5. Repeat steps as needed.

Now, your satin bridesmaid dress should be wrinkle free and ready for the dance floor!

Can You Heat Press Satin Fabric?

A heat press is a machine that uses heat and pressure to adhere graphics onto fabric. These can be industrial machines, found in a manufacturing capacity, but there are also smaller commercial versions for home sewers and crafters.

If you are one of those who has a heat press in your home, you may wonder if you can use it to remove the wrinkles from your satin garment. After all, it applies heat and pressure similar to an iron, right?

A regular iron is still going to be your best choice for getting the wrinkle out of your satin bridesmaid dress. However, if your iron is broken or you no longer have access to one, a heat press will work in an emergency!

When you heat press the satin, be sure to use either a pressing cloth or a Teflon sheet so that there is no direct contact between the fabric and the iron. You should also use a low temperature and only press the garment for 15-20 seconds.

Heat presses often have higher heat than a regular iron, which is why you will need to be extra careful. This is also why a heat press is not the best choice if you have another option.

Just like when you are ironing your satin bridesmaid dress with a regular iron, you should test the heat press on a small area of the garment to be sure it will not cause any damages.
Additionally, you should ensure that you are only turning the dress inside out and applying heat to the wrong side of the fabric.

Can You Iron Satin Without an Iron?

Sometimes, we find ourselves in a tricky situation without an iron. If you get to your hotel, for instance, and find yourself without an iron, there are some other tricks you can employ to de-wrinkle your satin bridesmaid dress!

Handheld Steamer

Rather than an iron, you could use a handheld steamer. This applies steam and heat to the garment in order to remove any creases or wrinkles. In fact, steamers are great choices for delicate fabrics like satin!

A steamer applies less pressure than an iron, relying on the steam to de-wrinkle the garment instead. It is a gentler method for wrinkle removal.

A handheld steamer is small and portable, so you can pack one with you if you are traveling and think your satin bridesmaid dress will be wrinkled once you arrive at your destination.

Below are the steps for using a handheld steamer to remove the wrinkles from your satin garment.

1. Hang your garment from a door or clothing rack.
2. Fill the steamer with water.
3. Start at the top of the garment, working your way down and applying steam through the layers to any wrinkles. Tug gently at the bottom of the garment to keep the fabric taut.
4. Repeat steps until wrinkles are removed, concentrating extra steam on any stubborn areas.

Running a Hot Shower

If you don’t have a steamer or an iron, there is a third way to get the wrinkles out of your satin bridesmaid dress. This method also employs steam, but it is a method you can use without any tools. You can run a hot shower to create the steam you need!

This is perfect for when you are away from home, without access to any tools. It’s the solution for when you are in a pinch, but may not work quite as well as an iron or a handheld steamer. Therefore, it should not be your first choice to get wrinkles out of your satin garments.

One of the great parts of this method, though, is that you are able to create the steam and leave your bridesmaid dress to de-wrinkle while you do other things— like get ready for the wedding!

Here is a quick step by step guide for this particular method.

1. Hang your dress from the curtain rod or in the back of the shower, where it will not get wet.
2. Run a very hot shower.
3. Close the bathroom door to trap the steam in the room with the garment.
4. Wait about 15-20 minutes and then retrieve the dress. The steam should have removed the wrinkles from the fabric.

Conclusion

While satin is a wrinkle resistant fabric, you may see that your satin bridesmaid dress becomes wrinkled or creased, especially when it is in transit. The best way to get rid of any wrinkles is to iron your garment, but you need to be careful due to the textile’s delicate nature.

There are also methods you can employ, such as steamers or the steam from a hot shower, if you are not able to use an iron.

As long as you are educated on satin and careful when you treat your dress, you will be able to keep your dress in great shape for a long time to come!