There are historical records that indicate that the Chinese were the first to put hot iron to fabric and achieve a smooth result. In bygone days clothes were made of fur and heavy materials such as velvet, none of which tolerated a hot iron and did not crease to a noticeable extent anyway. The Chinese, producers of such luxury materials as silk needed a tool to improve the finished appearance and this is probably how the tradition of ironing certain fabrics started.
What we do know for certain is that Henry Seely patented the world’s first electric iron in 1882. The ironing board itself was patented by an African American named Sarah Boone in 1892. So what should we look for in an ironing board? Continue reading