How important is the use of steam when shrinking garments? I'm working on trouser making and I've seen shrinking demonstrated with both a dry iron and a steam iron. Does steam make the process any quicker than just dampening the area and using a hot dry iron?
It does not make a huge difference in my opinion. You achieve much the same thing by applying some water to the area you want shrunk as applying it with with a steam iron. Sometimes I find it better to use just water instead of the steam iron, as it can sometimes be difficult to apply steam with the iron to a specific place on the garment without steaming the surrounding areas as well. (The sleeve head is a good example.) This is especially true with industrial steam irons, which pump out a lot more steam than a typical domestic iron. With a vacuum table the industrial irons really shine though, as you can apply lots of steam very quickly and then not have to wait for a long time to dry the ironed area to set it. Without a vacuum table you will have to keep the iron on the garment until it is quite dry, or as long as you can without scorching it and then placing a clapper on to suck up some of the moisture and cool the area down.