How To Clean an Iron.

Last week I started to clean my iron plate and found an article RealSimple made, but omitted a few of the steps since my iron manual advised against it.



It came out pretty clean, As you can see from the first image, that I doctored (I realized in the middle of cleaning that this would be a good blog post).



How I cleaned my iron:

I used 8 Tbsp Baking Soda & 4 Tbsp Cold Water (its a 2 to 1 ratio).

While the iron was cold I applied the paste with a towel, then I wiped it off with a clean towel. This didn't clean the iron, but it took some of the mineral deposits off.

I then turned the iron ON and set it to HIGH and steam to HIGH. With a damp towel I wiped off the paste. Then, I placed a clean towel on a heat resistant surface, and started squirting it with water and started working the iron back and forth on the towel, using steam.

Some of the iron's steam vents got clogged with the paste. I used a wet cotton swab to clean the baking soda from the vents.



This was no easy task ... It took me a good hour to clean it, but I did it.

Next, I want to start working on the smaller stains with either wax paper or toothpaste. Not sure if this will work, but I found two blogs where people have tried it and worked. I'll keep you posted on the results.



For more information about cleaning your iron check out my old post How to Clean Your Iron

Schmatta - Rags To Riches To Rags

I remember seeing a preview of the Schmatta - Rags to riches to rags documentary on HBO.com and was waiting for it to air or for the DVD to be released. I figured that HBO would included it on the HBO GO app, but they didn't.

After looking for this documentary for some time now I discovered this link someone had posted on a forum. It downloads pretty quickly and is of good quality.

The documentary has interesting facts regarding the garment industry in New York. Since I'm from LA I'm more interested in our history, never the less it was informative.

19th Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume and Design Exhibition @ FIDM

Saturday, February 05, 2011, was the opening of the 19th annual art of motion picture costume and design Exhibition @ FIDM. Right after parking we made a B line for the exhibition. I love costume design and nothing gives me grater pleasure than to see these wonderful costumes in person. I have often thought about working at a museum, but how does one get started?

Enough about me ...

Here are a few pictures of the costumes. I took about 140 pictures, but I only found 12 that I wanted to show you.

The exhibition was in a Z pattern, which was fun to walk around.





While watching Burlesque ... I noticed that some of the scenes look like Cabaret. The costumes and musical numbers were pure candy, but the story line sucked.















On a bathroom break, I found the famous Dior dress displaced in a glass case. Across from that was a wall show casing a few pictures and designs. They always have the best displays. I remember when I attended FIDM they had a new display on each floor, every week. I miss those days, going in early or staying late just to walk around wishing I could touch the outfits behind the glass cases. Memories :) Oh, They also had a display of men's accessories and perfumes in a small room off to the right of the elevator. I didn't take any pictures, didn't know if I was aloud. I should have taken at lest one ... Oh well, next time.






Here is a blurred picture of the party from the outside.




Oh, and I found me a celebrity, Nick Verreos. He was there last year as well. Didn't say "Hi", although now that I think of it, I should have.




Sorry this post is long over due, I'm just trying to finish a few things before I get into filming some tutorials. As for the new tutorial, I'm having trouble with the voice over part. It's hard to do everything without any help. TTFN

Fashion Week

I've updated the calendar on my vimeo group "DIY Sewing" to show the dates for fashion week around the world. Enjoy!