Pressing Ham

Rowena__.

greetings all! here are the instructions for making your own pressing ham.   They're easy to make but they take a while to explain.

You will need:

1--about 1/2 yard very heavy muslin or drill for ham and outer cover
2--about 1/4 yard wool for outer cover. I used an old wool blanket, and used the rest for the stuffing.
3--stuffing: I used wool scraps, but you could also use clean, kiln dried sawdust. Do not use sawdust from fresh wood (it will mold) or from pressure- treated wood (nasty chemicals that smell and stain--plus who knows how bad they are for your health).
4--old paper bag for pattern
5--two strong dowels
6--pencil
7--yardstick
8--scissors
9--heavy thread
10--bucket of water (only if using wool for stuffing)

To make the pattern: open the paper bag, draw a vertical line 18 inches long, mark the top of the line "1" and the bottom of the line "4". Then mark the line at the 6 inch and 12 inch.  At the mark closest to the top, draw a horizontal line 13 inches across. This line should be centered on the vertical line. Label the left end of this line"2".at the mark closest to the bottom, draw a horizontal line 11 inchesacross,centered on the vertical line. label the left end of this line "3".draw a gently curving line from point "1" to point "2",   point "3", and point"4".  Then correct the curves of the lines to your satisfaction. On mine, I make the top part of the curve fuller than the bottom, but it is at your discretion.  Fold on the vertical line and cut around the shape to form a ham-shaped pattern.

To make the ham: lay the pattern on the drill or muslin and trace. Add seam allowances, and cut out EXCEPT at the wide end where the fabric is left on as flaps. Sew around the shape twice, using small stitches, but leave the end with the flaps open. Mark the ham shape on the flaps with thread basting.  Make a casing in the end of the flaps and turn the ham right side out.

Filling the ham: if using wool to stuff, cut it into small pieces and dump in a bucket of water until soaked thru. If using sawdust, do not wet. Slide the dowels into the casings and hang the ham over a sink or a bucket--anything that will support the weight of the stuffed ham. WARNING: the wool ham will be heavy until dry. Now comes the fun part! Stuff until the ham is full and tight--when using the wet wool, you will think you'll never be done, but rest easy, you'll get there!  Pack the ham tight and shapei t as you go.  When you have it full, mold it to the desired finished line at the open end and baste it closed. Hang a wool ham to dry in a warm, dry place. This will take several days, depending on the weather.  Hang the sawdust ham too, it will compact just a bit as well.when the ham is dry, trim off the flaps, leaving seam allowances. Turn under and slip stitch closed. You can make an outer cover of wool if you so choose. I don't recommend making the inner cover of wool, as it stretches so much while stuffing that it gives way and won't hold the shape.

There now, that wasn't so bad!  I've made a few as gifts, they take about an hour of work all together, then a few days of patience. If anybody is interested, I also have instructions for making a pressing mitt, a pressing roll, pressing bricks, pressing weights--when I started sewing you couldn't just run out and buy any of this stuff, and to tell the truth i like the ones made by hand so much better than the store bought ones anyway.let me know if you need any help with these.