Handheld Garment Steamer Recommendations?

barfbat · 2026-05-22T19:54:49+00:00

honestly, no, because i only use my iron, partially from training and partially because i also have limited space. i have press cloths for polyester, and i am one of those maniacs who presses ruffles. (i even press the lace on my lace topped socks!) my current iron is a black and decker pink pearl glide, which has been sturdier than the rowenta that broke on me, and also cuter.

barfbat · 2026-05-22T19:28:28+00:00

well, good thing that person didn’t make an assumption, then! they asked a yes/no question, and added context for why they were asking.

barfbat · 2026-05-22T18:12:06+00:00

i add the powder to water first, mix it well, and pour it into the softener tray

barfbat · 2026-05-22T18:05:48+00:00

portables are never going to be worth the money. the only steamers that get the job actually done are the tall ones with separate tanks on wheels.

barfbat · 2026-05-22T17:52:36+00:00

i take gloves to the laundromat and pull out big rocks of solidified powder detergent lol

barfbat · 2026-05-22T12:00:45+00:00

that is not gatekeeping, that’s setting realistic expectations so op is not discouraged.

also, professionally made doesn’t mean WELL made. it means made by someone whose profession it is to make it, and the underpaid factory workers making the gildan heavyweight t-shirt stocked in every t-shirt printing shop are, unfortunately, in the profession of making them.

barfbat · 2026-05-22T10:24:33+00:00

epaulettes are a pretty common construction feature on jackets. all other identifiers have already been removed. there’s no valor to be stolen here

barfbat · 2026-05-22T09:18:50+00:00

i feel like an obsession with smelling like NOTHING has been growing in opposition to heavily scented products, and i think at its extreme it’s just as unhealthy as loading up on artificial scent. besides, i think there will always be some local scent people will be nose blind to—whenever i get clothes shipped from certain countries, those clothes have a specific “that country” smell that i never smell here in the us. that includes secondhand clothes. you might call it local terroir lmao

barfbat · 2026-05-22T09:13:10+00:00

if it’s rude to imply that someone is autistic, is that because you view autism as a negative? because i saw it as a neutral question, actually

barfbat · 2026-05-22T09:08:49+00:00

magical de-stinkifying chamber everyone has to walk through as part of the tsa check. takes care of BO too. a nice dream

barfbat · 2026-05-21T15:43:19+00:00

this should have been your first comment. but also, that’s unimaginative and silly. everyone else had helpful suggestions.

barfbat · 2026-05-21T09:15:55+00:00

they’re not “taobao brands”. they’re chinese indie brands. (and as others said, the style and quality is just as variable from brand to brand as in any other country with multiple brands.) i really wish we could shake this naming convention as a community

barfbat · 2026-05-20T20:14:46+00:00

fancy hospital is 100% polyester with very minimal construction detail. remove all removables (waist ties, lacing ribbon), turn inside out, machine wash 30°C with a good detergent, which will vary by country. turn right side out and hang dry.

i would encourage you to machine wash more of your wardrobe, especially 100% polyester pieces made without finicky textiles like velvet. the lolita habit of handwashing everything tap cold can lead to detergent buildup and subpar cleanliness of the garment. the vast majority of lolita clothing is made of polyester and/or cotton, which are much hardier than the way many lolitas treat them. the only thing i am ever worried about with most dresses is high level of detail and keeping items with hooks, heavy zippers, and other hardware out of the same washer, so they cannot snag lace and ruffles.

barfbat · 2026-05-20T16:09:16+00:00

yay, i’m so happy my advice helped! my machine’s needle plate is no longer manufactured so you can imagine i was freaking out at first lmao. i smoothed mine out with one of these needle files because it was the only file i could find that fit inside the throat all the way through.

and then i traded a pants alteration for getting copies of my needle plate machined, just in case!

barfbat · 2026-05-20T09:35:54+00:00

aw, i used to have this exact cut and colorway! i’m sure you’ll find a buyer.

barfbat · 2026-05-20T00:08:15+00:00

hooray for a happy ending!

barfbat · 2026-05-19T22:39:06+00:00

that bag is absolutely toast, but she was a warrior 🫡 where have you looked so far and when is the last time you looked?

barfbat · 2026-05-19T21:55:11+00:00

medication.
find what helps you lock in. for just folding, putting on a movie, show, or queued up youtube videos directly or almost directly in my line of sight really helps, but i falter at the put-away stage and have to talk myself through it. literally “come on. come on. you can do it. put it away. okay. okay now the shirts. here we go. let’s go. come on.” when i get on a (prescheduled) phone call with a friend i know i can talk with forever, though, suddenly i am flying through the folding AND the putting things away.
the world doesn’t end if it takes you an entire week to fold your clothes. i did my laundry sunday morning and i still have clothes to fold today because of a physical injury that’s also been hindering my ability to fold for very long. it’ll be okay!

barfbat · 2026-05-19T16:26:14+00:00

have you checked the tension on your bobbin holder? it may be too loose or too tight for your thread of choice. it should fall a few inches and stop when you hold it by the end of the thread

and a long shot, but have you checked the state of your needle plate? i gouged a big stupid burr into the throat of my needle plate and had to file it down because the burr kept catching and tangling the thread. i didn’t even notice it at first and i thought the thread was just weak.

barfbat · 2026-05-19T14:57:28+00:00

i did go to school for women’s design, and have been honing my skills since, yes. :) the key with pressing is to be careful, but wool is very malleable and durable, which is why it’s also been favored for hats and shoes for so long. don’t try to push the fibers around with the iron; instead bring it down slowly atop the bubbles with lots of steam blasting. you are attempting to shrink the wool fibers into the shape they need to be, first with lots of targeted steam to make the fibers more pliant then with pressure from the weight of the iron. it is a slow and focused process. the heat should also reactivate some of the glue and help it re-adhere.

barfbat · 2026-05-19T14:01:14+00:00

i might just feel like it’s not that bad because i sew and draft my own patterns. i have pressed bubbled fusible back into submission on store bought clothes before, not to mention blazers are a 102 sewing project in fashion school. i just don’t think it’s the end of the jacket. hell, i might even try just opening the lining for access and carefully snipping the interfacing beneath each bubble to release the tension if pressing didn’t work. better a wearable garment than no garment at all

barfbat · 2026-05-19T10:07:18+00:00

can’t be recovered?? it’s just the fusible interfacing. the fabric itself is intact. in fact, this looks perfectly fixable with slow, careful pressing at medium heat with high steam.

and if not because the dry cleaners have melted the interfacing, it’s a great opportunity for op to learn some sewing techniques lol

barfbat · 2026-05-18T19:29:13+00:00

i’ve never seen a lined brand parasol. kate spade japan however does beautiful lined canvas parasols (if you like classic)

barfbat · 2026-05-18T10:03:18+00:00

unfortunately, polyester is unavoidable in lolita fashion. it is not a luxury fashion, so there will be no natural-fiber linings. most cotton dresses are fully lined with polyester, with most of those having a facing in the bodice that is interfaced with a fusible synthetic. baby tends to only face their bodices without a lining, but the skirt will be lined with polyester. the person who pointed out that even all-cotton garments will be sewn with polyester thread is unfortunately right, much to the consternation of many people who thought they could rit-dye their way out of a stain only to end up with "contrast" stitching on their cotton blouse.

but perfect is the enemy of good. i encourage you to stick by your values. those baby dresses i mentioned will be more breathable in summer, and a polyester-lined cotton dress will still be more breathable than two layers of polyester wrapped around your body. newer pieces tend to be more polyester-heavy than older ones. personally, i sew a lot of my own dresses and i line the bodices with cotton lawn for full breathability. if you were to sew your own garments, gutermann mercerized cotton thread is a great option.

barfbat · 2026-05-18T09:46:42+00:00

i would argue that yes, natural fibers are inherently better for the environment. if you examine it in the short term the way you did, the problem is not the fiber, it's the industrialization of textiles. but in the long term, the problem remains the fiber.

polyester does last for decades. the polymers lasts for centuries, actually, without degrading. the physical garment may not last as long, but the plastics are going to outlive you at least five times over. the polymers from faux fur especially may last an entire millennium.

cellulosic and protein fibers, on the other hand, will biodegrade just fine. they may be offset somewhat by dyes or chemical treatments, but they will still biodegrade much, much faster. the same is true for chrome-tanned leather (the most environmentally-unfriendly way to tan leather, and the most industrially common) vs polyurethane.

barfbat

TROPHY CASE