When pressing suede and leather garments, you usually don’t want to press creases into the sleeves — and customers don’t want sleeve creases, either. And an easy, inexpensive way to avoid unwanted creases in sleeves is to use a leather sleeve press pad.
A leather sleeve press pad is covered with tightly woven fabric and shaped like a sleeve; you can slide it inside the sleeve of a leather garment to help it hold its shape against the heat and pressure of the press. A sleeve press pad will usually fill an average-sized sleeve or a “petite” sleeve on a woman’s garment completely.
To position the pad, slip it into the sleeve the same way a customer would slip his or her arm into the sleeve, narrow end first. Slide the sleeve pad through until the larger end is even with the seam of the shoulder, so you can press the sleeve from shoulder to cuff in a single lay.
Do not use live steam when pressing suede or leather garments unless you have reduced the steam pressure on the press to no more than 40 psi. For best results, use a hothead press with the steam pressure set at no more than 50 psi, or use a press equipped with a nonperforated grid plate.
Press the underside of the sleeve first. Place the sleeve with the pad in it on the buck; position it so that the head presses the sleeve from armpit to cuff. Be sure the cuff line is set where you want it before lowering the head. After pressing a suede, always brush up the nap with a suede brush.
Now, turn the sleeve over so you can press the outside. Pull it up on the buck so that the head will press the entire length of the outside of the sleeve from shoulder to cuff. Again, be sure that the cuff line is set where you want it before lowering the head of the press.
In just two lays, you’ll get wrinkle-free sleeves that satisfy most customers. However, you’ll want to use four lays to provide optimum quality. After performing the first two lays, roll the sleeve 90° on the press pad so that the areas of the sleeve that were at the edges of the pad are now on the flat part of the pad. Press the sleeve on one side and the other so that every part of the sleeve comes into contact with the press, and the finish will be superb.
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