Can You Iron Soccer Jerseys?

Football merchandise is a huge industry that several companies profit handsomely from.

It’s a big part of why shirt sponsors are willing to pay huge sums of money to get their logos front and centre on soccer jerseys, as there’s a massive televised audience to market to.

Avid fans are usually quite eager to get their hands on the latest team jerseys, which get released to the general public after kit unveiling announcements by clubs.

But what happens when your favourite jersey – that cost you an arm and a leg to obtain – wrinkles up after a wash?

Well, soccer jerseys can be ironed although this is not a practice that is recommended, as the heat produced by irons can possibly damage the integrity of the fabric used to make them. Instead, it is better to air dry jerseys by placing them on wooden or plastic hangers, with the additional alternative of laying them flat on a clean towel.

However, if you must iron your favourite football shirt, then you’ll want to carry on reading in order to gain a basic understanding of how to do this correctly.

 

Soccer jersey ironing tips

I’ve outlined two pieces of advice that I’d highly encourage you to follow if you ever decide to grab that iron.

So, here goes…

 

1. Use a low heat setting

iron your soccer jerseys with low heat

This is a pretty self-explanatory point, although its equally important to mention.

A temperature setting that is too hot can scorch or burn the fabric that the jersey is made from.

One of the safest things you can do if you’re unsure of how much heat is required for an optimal ironing experience is to start on the lowest heat setting and gradually work your way up.

That way, you reduce the chances of making an initial mistake with the heat setting and possibly burning your expensively acquired jersey in the process.

Even more so, an iron that’s excessively hot can leave a permanent stain on your jersey, which is one of the last things you’d want to see.

Therefore, be sure to take utmost care when you’re setting the heat level on the hot plate.

 

2. Iron from the inside out

This is just a simple way of protecting the fabric.

By turning your jersey inside out, you are shielding it from the direct heat that comes from the iron plate.

 

3. Avoid going directly over embellishments

iron your soccer jersey embellishments with care

For those of you who are unaware of what embellishments are, I’m talking about the decorative features or details that make a soccer jersey stand out as an attractive item of clothing.

By directly ironing the embellishments as well as the rest of the fabric, the names, numbers and crests suffer from unnecessary friction.

More particularly with the team crests, fabric pilling could become an issue.

This is because the friction brought about by the iron rubbing repeatedly against this part of the shirt causes loose fibres to twist up into tiny balls that make the fabric ultimately look rough and uneven.

 

Can you iron the numbers on a jersey?

The answer here is yes, but it has to be done in the right way otherwise irreversible damage to the jersey will suffice.

As the first recommendation, use only the tip of the iron if you’re inexperienced or never attempted to iron jersey numbers before.

You’ll also only want to press against the numbering for a short period of time and be very gentle whilst performing the motion.

But before you even turn on your iron and attempt to do this yourself, I’d like you to read on for further insight.

 

How do you get the wrinkles out of a football jersey?

Wrinkled lettering on a football jersey is quite a common occurrence.

For the best results, you’ll need to ensure that you set the iron to the lowest heat setting before placing what is known as parchment paper on top of the jersey fabric and ironing over the paper itself.

Because this paper has non-stick properties, it acts as a great protective layer to put over a jersey so that the stylish numbers don’t get chipped or blistered when the wrinkles on them are in the process of being flattened out.

Here’s a fantastic video which illustrates how the wrinkles from a football jersey are eradicated in a step by step process:

 

Closing thoughts

So, that wraps up this informative article on whether you can iron soccer jerseys.

The main takeaway is that…

Soccer jerseys should not usually be ironed due to the delicacy of the fabric and accompanying embellishments present on these t-shirt designs. By contrast, jerseys should be air dried through hanging on top of wooden or plastic railings, or by laying them face flat on a clean towel.

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Samuel Waihenya
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