Peering Into The Past #2: Sad Irons

Come and join me as I share a little history surrounding sad irons! This is the second episode in this series.

[@donnarader2327]

My mother learned to iron with a sad iron, so when I volunteered at a living history museum in the 90's, she talked me through how to use it. To judge if the iron was hot enough, she licked her middle finger and quickly touched the bottom of the iron, and if it sizzled it was ready. She also said to keep a wet cloth on the end of the ironing board and to run the hot iron over it prior to touching the iron to the item being pressed. This minimized the danger of scorching. She also taught me how to use a hair curling iron in a similar manner. You heat the curling iron in the chimney of an oil lamp, and then wrap a wet cloth around it once it was removed from the lamp. She said you wanted to remove any possible soot that came from the lamp, but also to cool the curling iron a bit in order to not burn your hair. My mom was a depression baby in Oklahoma, and she truly learned the old ways of doing things. She was a wealth of information.

[@thesimplequilter7499]

That is so interesting!!! Thank you so much for sharing!!! It is so neat to hear accounts of the history from the past.

[@pamelaspooner7183]

I always spit on my finger to test if the iron’s hot enough. I thought everyone did that! Maybe it’s a British thing?

[@thesimplequilter7499]

@@pamelaspooner7183 Maybe?

[@karin0963]

I love antiques. Thank you for the lesson

[@thesimplequilter7499]

Me too!

[@wandawalker4191]

I use an old iron for decor in my sewing room, and also use it for a weight on the end of my cutting ruler when cutting long strips.

[@thesimplequilter7499]

What a neat idea! Thanks for sharing!

[@robertamartinson8271]

Very interesting! I enjoy your antique research.

[@thesimplequilter7499]

Thank you!

[@kathrynmayer3991]

I have one of the more commonly seen flat irons. It belonged to grandmother and my mother told stories of having to use those when she was a child heating them up on the wood burning stove. Thank you for modern technology and steam irons :-)

[@thesimplequilter7499]

Thanks for sharing! Stories like this are great to hear!

[@gamarosemary]

History of old objects/tools like this is fascinating. Thank you for sharing the information you found. Also, the movie North and South is excellent! One of my favorites.

[@thesimplequilter7499]

You are most welcome! I really liked North and South also!

[@jenniferkihano486]

I have an iron like that, it was my great grandmother's, other than that I don't know too much about it. I also have a few other antique irons, my father loved antiques and whoever he would come across something sewing related he would save them for me.

[@thesimplequilter7499]

I like antiques too!!!

[@dawnplough1458]

Very interesting.. thanks

[@thesimplequilter7499]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@Ellcell0918]

This was so interesting, thank you!

[@thesimplequilter7499]

You're so welcome!

[@fransak2723]

I do have one that is solid iron, no wooden handle. I use it for a door stop. I also have a child sized one on a child sized ironing board for decoration in my sewing studio. Very interesting tidbits you shared. Thanks.

[@thesimplequilter7499]

Thanks for sharing! That sounds so neat!!!

[@janmatthiesen4142]

I have several sad irons. Different styles and sizes. I bought most in antique stores. They just fascinate me.

[@thesimplequilter7499]

They are fascinating!

[@mathgeek7966]

My mom collected irons, and had one similar to yours. I've now inherited them, but don't know much about them yet, so appreciate your research! Some have removable handles and some have trivets. She used one as a doorstop, which I had totally forgotten about until I was reading the other comments 🙂

[@thesimplequilter7499]

Thanks for watching and sharing! It is fun to hear from others!

[@paulasalter1041]

My grandmother had cast iron irons and used them as door stops. The handles were iron and not removable. Thanks for the history.

[@thesimplequilter7499]

You are most welcome!

[@megharmon2298]

I do not have one but my grandmother had one. It alwats sat on her kerisene stove which also had a woid component , i think for the actual oven. She used it all the time when i visited. She speayed my clithes with a soda bottle with some kind of sprinkler attaced and the irined. My mother had an electric iron but she also used a bottle like this. But I remember my grandmother pressing her crazy quilt blocks with that old iron. I have no idea what happened to my grandmother's iron.

[@thesimplequilter7499]

That was a great story!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

[@dellabadger3514]

Enjoyed this very informative video on sad irons. Thank you

[@thesimplequilter7499]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@SC-hj3hr]

Keep these coming. I so enjoy learning about early tools. TFS

[@thesimplequilter7499]

Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment!

[@jeannehoffman1060]

I have 3 old irons. I love them. The oldest is very late 1800’s.

[@thesimplequilter7499]

That is so neat!!! Thanks for sharing!!

[@cynthiashattles604]

I have two older irons that have been passed down in the family but I don't know the history of them. I wish I did . I have a sad iron like you showed with Colebroordale Iron Co. Boyertown, PA USA on it. I have another that might be cast iron that has a metal handle with the name Nashville. It sits in a metal tray. You have made me wonder about where they came from. I am thinking it was from my Grandmother on my Mother's side of the family. Glad I don't have to use one of these!

[@thesimplequilter7499]

Whoever had to iron with those must have worked very hard!!! They probably didn't have air conditioning either!!

[@meacadwell]

I have 3 sad irons I found on eBay. One is a sample a salesman would have shown to prospective buyers (sometimes known as child sized). One is a regular sized one but in one piece and the other is similar to the one you're holding where the handle can come off to swap out a too cool iron for a hotter one. I use the first two as weights to hold fabric or on top of my quilt rulers (I glued felt to the bottoms to prevent scratching the rulers) and the last one is a door stop.

[@thesimplequilter7499]

Thanks so much for sharing! It is great to hear from others!

[@user-nl8jv5mk7m]

I am 60, and my grandmother had those flat irons when my mother was a girl. They had a woodburning stove for cooking, and Mother told me about setting the cool base to heat on the stove and picking up the hot one with the wooden handle, just like you described! Thank you for sharing this, it brought back good memories :)

[@thesimplequilter7499]

It is fun to hear about things from the past! Thanks for sharing!

[@jacquelinesecor9349]

I do have one! I love it lol it works great for a seam press after it’s ironed. I currently use it for decoration mine is slightly different but very old

[@thesimplequilter7499]

Thanks so much for sharing!!

[@jtumbleweed64]

I have had a base of iron for years. Had a door not balanced and would close on its own. So used the base to keep door open. Stubbed my toe on it more than once. Didn’t learn first time.

[@thesimplequilter7499]

Thanks for sharing!!!

[@jeannehoffman1060]

I have 3 old irons. I love them. The oldest is late 1800’s. Solid iron. The only marking on it is a 6 on the top.

[@thesimplequilter7499]

The next antique shop I go to, I am going to look for more antique irons and trivets, just to see if I can find any!

[@coreygilles847]

My great grandmother was a professional laundress in South Dakota in 1905 and we have a very old cast iron iron. It has a wooden handle and the top flips up (if you disengage the lock which is shaped like a crowing Rooster) and it can be filled with charcoal so it stays hot longer. I don’t know anything about it other than it is about 9 pounds and as a kid my dad made us lift it with the arm we got vaccinations in so it would help disperse the shot quicker. 😂 ❤

[@thesimplequilter7499]

What a fun story!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

[@livingweirdestherc6644]

That is cool

[@thesimplequilter7499]

I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@frandelair403]

Enjoyed this video. Very interesting and informative

[@thesimplequilter7499]

Yes indeed!

[@marshawhite6652]

I have several types of old irons. Thanks for your research

[@thesimplequilter7499]

Thanks for watching!

[@michelleswistak1389]

Just watched a Missouri Star video and there are a couple of those old tall spools on the shelf behind them.😊

[@thesimplequilter7499]

Thanks for sharing!

[@ccreel64]

Fascinating!

[@thesimplequilter7499]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@maryspeth3469]

You are set to set seams when they turn the grid off 🙂🙃

[@gisellejones1139]

Good point lol

[@thesimplequilter7499]

Lol!!!

[@connieking9873]

I have one that was my MIL’s. It is solid and smaller the handle is missing but I love it.

[@thesimplequilter7499]

Thanks for sharing!

[@normatulloch376]

Very interesting.

[@thesimplequilter7499]

I think so too!

[@gisellejones1139]

Must have been a big learning curve 😮😮

[@thesimplequilter7499]

Learning new stuff is always exciting!

[@MichellesCraftsandMore]

That sad iron contains asbestos. I have one just like it as well as one that can hold coal and the usual type that you put on the stove to heat.

[@thesimplequilter7499]

There were asbestos irons that had sheets of asbestos that were used to insulate the irons. I didn’t know that about these. Thanks for sharing!'