Can chiffon fabric be steamed? What is the best way to get rid of wrinkles in a fine bridesmaid dress?
Ultimately, you can do whatever makes you (and the bridesmaids) happy. Your mom isn't the bride or a bridesmaid so (unless she's paying for the bridesmaids' outfits) she doesn't get a say. However, the bridal party should really all be in the same level of formality. And a floor-length dress is usually more formal than a tea-length dress, depending on the fabric. You could get away with putting the bridesmaids in floor-length if their fabric is a lot more casual than yours. If you are unsure about fabric formality, ask someone at a bridal salon or an upper-class department store for help. If you decide to put the bridesmaids in shorter dresses, I would choose knee-length rather than tea-length. Tea-length is a VERY hard look to pull off, and many women wind up looking stumpy in tea-length. If you want to go shorter then go with knee-length.
Press the chiffon with an iron set on low heat and using a pressing cloth. Use of steam is OK but if you're using steam be SURE to use a pressing cloth. Also take into account the fabric content--rayon, silk, polyester? Be particularly careful if it's silk.
Not with a conventional household steam Iron, but with a steamer, you can buy them at walmart, I think I've seen them there. What they are is a no contact steam iron, it is a plastic bottle with a nozzle that is about 3 inches wide with holes in it, it has an electric cord on it. YOu simply reomve the nozzle, pourin the water, then it heats up in about a minute, you then hang your garment up, and slowly wave the steamer over the garment abut 1-2 away from it, and the wrinkles fall out of the garment. It works great on fine material of all kinds. It's great for traveling, it's smaller than an Iron, and you will never scorch a garment.
