Hey everyone!!
How’s your week going thus far? Well I have had a wonderful start to my week and I only hope that it continues that way. Last week I was able to finish sewing an outfit for my youngest star, Dior. The pattern was the Allie top & shorts from the Violette Field Threads line. 
This line is for the female population from baby to adult. I really like their patterns because they have a variety of styles, ranging from swimsuits, dresses, shorts, tops, and pants and they even have matching mommy & me and doll & me outfits. I will do a review on the pattern and fabric on another blog post, but here is a picture of the Allie top & shorts that I sewed:
The real reason for this post is to review two irons. If you know how to sew or have had the opportunity to attend one of my sewing classes you know that ironing or pressing is very important to your handmade garment. Pressing can make or break whether someone thinks you made or bought your outfit and of course we want people to think that we bought it from the store, wouldn’t you say.
When I first started sewing I used the regular Black & Decker iron that I already had. I personally didn’t think the type of iron was important. I mean, if it doesn’t look pressed well at first then I would just press it again later and believe me that is perfectly fine especially when you are on a budget. Once I really started getting into sewing, my time became more valuable and pressing over and over again begin to take up more and more of my time and anyone who knows me knows that I don’t like to really waste time. So as I watched Mimi G, Mimi G Style, sewing videos I noticed this beautiful iron that she had. This iron had a lot of STEAM and she was only pressing items once and not only that she didn’t have to stand the iron up! Say what?!?!?! This iron had its own feet!! When Mimi would take her hand off the iron it would stand up so that it wouldn’t burn whatever it was resting on. From then on I was dreaming of this iron. So a year later I was able to attend Mimi G Sewing conference in California and she had the iron vendor there. The iron was about $60-$80 off and you know I bought it!! This iron is called the Limited Edition: Oliso TG1100 SMART IRON, Orchid-Purple. It is 1800 watts and has a tip that allows for ironing pockets and cuffs.
My review is that I love this Oliso TG1100 SMART IRON and so does everyone else. I love how hot the Oliso gets and that it has feet and an automatic shut-off. I will continue to use this iron and I will purchase a few more for my classes.
Just recently I purchased another iron that many sewers have been raving about, the Rowenta! I did my research on this iron and it was also pretty pricey, but I was planning to purchase it later on. One day I went to Big Lots and I happened to be in the appliance section and what do you know, there were Rowenta irons, lots of them!! These irons were only $20-$40, whereas online they were $70 and above. Soooo you know I purchased two of them. I purchased the Rowenta Focus, DW5080. This iron is beautiful! And that stainless steel sole plate and 400 holes for micro-steaming, amazingly awesome!! The Rowenta Focus also has a precision tip and allows for vertical steaming. The other thing I like about this iron is that the water fill system is large enough to allow you to put it under the faucet and fill it and it has not dripped yet. The only down side to the Rowenta Focus is that it doesn’t has its own feet so you have to stand it up.
So which iron would I recommend???? Either iron is great and will get the job done in a timely manner. I believe that the Rowenta Focus has more steaming power because of the 400 holes, but the Oliso TG1100 SMART IRON gets super-hot as well. The Rowenta doesn’t have feet so you have to stand it up. Both irons have auto shut-off and both have nice eye appeal. The Oliso is higher in price, but it does have feet… So if you are in Big Lots check out the appliance section and purchase a Rowenta Focus or purchase an Oliso TG1100 SMART IRON from Amazon.
Compassionately Creative 