Last year I ordered a new iron. More on why later in this post. But I was reminded of my purchase when I watched old episodes of Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries.
The iron I bought is just like the one the classy lady detective is holding (with a few more features, see below). If you have not seen this show, and you love well-fitting, elegant clothing, from our era or any other, do search, borrow or order right away. The Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries are set in 1920s Australia, a country recovering from losses in World War I Europe yet embracing such newfangled concepts as automobiles. I watch the series for the wardrobes, especially the graceful outfits on Miss Fisher herself. This is a woman who can find herself being shot at and return fire with her pearl-handled pistol, which she whipped out from beneath her silk and furs. Quite a few well-dressed young men are attracted to Miss Fisher, so their outfits are also fantastic. While Miss Fisher is incredible, many episodes highly implausible — but good fun to watch just the same! By the way, despite holding one in the scene above, Miss Fisher spends zero time using an iron, as a classy and wealthy lady detective.
Now the story of the iron. I had a Rowena iron for a long time. The models have declined in quality over time, apparently; one story is they were previously made in Germany to higher quality, and quality declined when manufacturing moved to Asia. My iron was by no means new, so it wasn’t of the older, higher quality. But it had a large water reservoir, and worked fine. The iron rested, heal down, on the ironing board. One day, my younger cat decided to launch from ironing board to nearby sofa, the ironing board wobbled, and the iron went crashing to the floor. Even then it worked. But it sprouted a crack somewhere, and no longer held water well. I adapted for a while by using a damp ironing cloth, as all good sewists should when they are adhering interfacing, etc. Then I ordered this Panasonic: Panasonic iron on Amazon.com (It is not an affiliate link, which means I will not profit from your purchase in any way.)
In the product pictures, I could see that it has two pointy ends, and could see the advantages in sewing projects. I could also see that it might press less fabric at a time, and take longer. But how would it sit upon the ironing board, with no trusty heel? Turns out it has a heel that looks like a bracket, coming down on either side. I now keep this iron on the floor, to avoid another kitty-crash incident. The hardwood floor storage works because the iron features an automatic shutoff. Amazon.com reviews indicated some customers were irritated by the shut-off mechanism, because they had to wait for warm-up. But I found the manufacturer true to its promise, and the iron heats up quickly. Therefore I leave the dial at the last setting, and keep it plugged in. The only drawback regards the amount of water this iron holds: It just does not hold a great amount compared to others I’ve owned in the past. But I’m not a tailor or a dry cleaning shop, so I don’t mind taking a minute or two to fill the reservoir.
Now don’t forget to find out why Miss Fisher is holding an iron which she never uses, by looking up Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries on Amazon.com! (link is not an affiliate link).
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