Mentha spicata - Spearmint oil for pressing and ironing

[Kristof]

Hi everyone!

As I wrote in http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...47/index2.html I used an old domestic remedy for pressing tbe pleats into my kilt: The oil of the spearmint or "mentha spicata" in latin.

The head of the costume department at th theater were I work uses it to get any wrinkles out of fabric. Even the machine made crease in bought trousers canbe made undone (sometimes they have to alter bought trousers for a costume and then the crease isn't at tbe right place anymore).

But it works the other way too! I first used the oil when pressing the hem into the lining of my kilt before sewing it in. It's plain cotton fabric and with a little oil in the water of the electric iron I got a very sharp hem in no time. And for the pleats it worked as well.

Now the question is: Do you get spearmint oil, the essential oil of the "mentha spicata" outside germany? I can order nearly every kind of oil and other chemicals at my local pharmacy. Can maybe one from every other country here in this forum go and look for it and tell us, if and where you can buy the oil?

You need a vew drops for 100 ml water. Be careful, it's a very thin oil so there will come out a lot from the bottle. One can use it either in the steam iron or steam iron station or spray it on a ironing cloth and use it with a dry iron. Forget all that chemical stuff and use this very old domestic remedy. And it helps breathing if you have a cold, too. Tbe spearmint scent is not very strong in such an amount of water, but you can smell and feel it. But I don't have the feeling of wearing a chewing gum kilt at all :-)

[Jock Scot]

I have to confess that I have never heard of Mentha Spicata oil and did not know that spearmint oil was available to the general public. Even if I did, I would not know about its uses with the iron. Thank you for that. Never too old to learn, eh?

[ShaunMaxwell]

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1748222...FU6RHwodaowATQ

[Tarheel]

Essential oils are used in Aromatherapy worldwide. I used to sell Tisserand (top of the line) to Queen Helene (budget price but fair products). Depending on the oil, the cost ranges are a bit steep for the amount you purchase, but one uses so little at a time the quantity lasts (unless evaporation of the more volatile blends occur.)

[Tartan Tess]

I would rather die than add oils to a kilt so this makes me cringe. I am a home sewer and go to great means to keep the pieces of tartan I am working on from getting any kind of smell or stain or dog hair. this sounds tricky to me.

[Tarheel]

I can see Tartan Tess's concerns clearly. I would only use oils in steamers (as Kristof has suggested by proportion) with Cedar or Juniper, which happen to be natural moth repellants also. It may lure pets that are drawn to the "woodsy" aroma however. Lavender is a safer oil and has more alkali properties that the acidic trees bases. These are just my thoughts and not recommendations, except for conversation sake.

[Kristof]

I think, you got me wrong: I don't add a nice spearmint smell to the kilt. I use this oil to get sharper pleats.

"Krauseminze-Wasser" (Spearmint water) is used for ages to get a better ironing result. It removes wrinkels or helps making sharper crease in mens trousers. As I said before, there is nothing to smell in the kilt afterwards.

Mentha spicata seems to "reorganize" the fibres. I don't think that cedar can do that. The spearmint oil is neither good against moths nor do I try to make aroma therapy kilts. It only helps ironing!

Tartan Tess, you don't have to die and I didn't ask to "add oil to the kilt". As I said in the beginning, it is something that professional tailors use traditionally and still do.

[AlabamaCelticLass]

I do a lot of aromatherapy and other natural remedies, so I use quite a bit of essential oils and other natural items. I buy most of mine from Bulk Apothecary. It's astonishing how cheap they are compared to other distributers. And I guarantee, I have been highly pleased with their products (so have my friends and customers). Here is the link to their spearmint essential oil:

http://www.bulkapothecary.com/produc...essential-oil/

[Tarheel]

Thanks for the clarification Kristof. There are other oil-infused aquatic sprays (like lavender water) that I have used on fabrics to eliminate odors. Your concern for pressing/ironing is new to many of us that haven't used the product you are familiar with.

[Dixiecat]

Hi everyone!

As I wrote in http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...47/index2.html I used an old domestic remedy for pressing tbe pleats into my kilt: The oil of the spearmint or "mentha spicata" in latin.

The head of the costume department at th theater were I work uses it to get any wrinkles out of fabric. Even the machine made crease in bought trousers canbe made undone (sometimes they have to alter bought trousers for a costume and then the crease isn't at tbe right place anymore).

But it works the other way too! I first used the oil when pressing the hem into the lining of my kilt before sewing it in. It's plain cotton fabric and with a little oil in the water of the electric iron I got a very sharp hem in no time. And for the pleats it worked as well.

Now the question is: Do you get spearmint oil, the essential oil of the "mentha spicata" outside germany? I can order nearly every kind of oil and other chemicals at my local pharmacy. Can maybe one from every other country here in this forum go and look for it and tell us, if and where you can buy the oil?

You need a vew drops for 10 ml water. Be careful, it's a very thin oil so there will come out a lot from the bottle. One can use it either in the steam iron or steam iron station or spray it on a ironing cloth and use it with a dry iron. Forget all that chemical stuff and use this very old domestic remedy. And it helps breathing if you have a cold, too. Tbe spearmint scent is not very strong in such an amount of water, but you can smell and feel it. But I don't have the feeling of wearing a chewing gum kilt at all :-)

Are you sure you mean 10mL? That's not very much water. I know that this is probably a typo, but not sure if you meant 100mL or 1000mL. Can you clarify?