Need a little help with using Sta-Flo for the first time.
 

I usually use Best Press but that really only gives me a light starching and I wanted to try something different for a medium to medium heavy startching so I bought a jug of Sta-Flo. I've read many posts that refer to putting it in a spray bottle and spraying it onto the fabric. I was thinking about preparing a large tub of the starch/water mix and completely soaking my fabrics. So, my questions are:

--The bottle mentions wetting the fabric/item in the solution then wringing it out. Should I let the fabric soak in the solution for a period of time?

--The bottle says you should iron the fabric/item while it is wet or damp. If I let it dry or almost dry, will I get the same results? I don't like ironing wet or pretty damp fabrics because the moisture soaks into my ironing pad pretty quickly.

--I'm going to be using about 65 to 75 fat quarters for my project. I hope one jug will be enough. I'll probably be doing it in 5 to 7 FQ pieces at a time depending on how they fit in my wash tub/bin (the bins you get at the hospital to vomit in-I was sent home with one last June after surgery as I was still feeling very yucky!!).

Is there anything else I need to know or tips you can give me? Thanks.

I use Sta-Flo to make my own spray starch. I dilute it on a 1:1 basis (1 cup water to 1 cup starch). This is will result in a relatively stiff fabric. I spray and then wait a bit before ironing. You want to iron while the fabric is still damp. You may have problems with flaking.

I spray one side and iron on the other - seems like that reduces the flaking.

I also use Niagra spray starch-non aerosol-save the empty bottle, then mixed up the Sta-flo starch. I think I used either 2:1 or 3:1 . If you soak the fabrics, you will be wasting a lot of starch besides being messier and time consuming.
You have to iron fabrics anyway, so find a time with favorite show (mine is Kathy Lee and Hoda) set ironing board in front of tv under ceiling fan and iron away with spray starch. I iron backs and other yardage this way-then cut and sew.
Just MHO.

Please if you use the bucket method don't use too much starch. I did this and the fabric was as stiff as card. It took 2 soakings and rinse spin in machine. Becareful if you spray and iron the thick starch as it goes through onto the ironing board and will ruin next piece ironed on it . You can guess how I know.

I wouldn't spray that much fabric; my arthritis would flare up from pulling that trigger so many times! Soaking wastes a lot of starch. You do ***not*** want to iron heavily starched fabric while the fabric is still wet. (You can scorch the starch if you iron it while wet, plus you can get the bleed-through problem another poster mentioned.)

Here's what I do:

Mix a 1:1 solution of starch:water in a mixing bowl (start with 2 cups of each for that much fabric). Work on a kitchen island, if you have one. Use a large, inexpensive wall painting brush to "paint" the starch solution onto the fabric until the fabric is saturated. Allow a couple of minutes for starch to penetrate all the fibers. Toss fabric in dryer. Iron with lots of steam (the steam reactivates the starch to get the wrinkles out). This produces a heavily starched fabric that is not quite as stiff as cardstock (seems to depend on the fabric).

I use 1 cup Sta Flo to 1/2 cup water. I spray my yardage and put in dryer on high heat. Why do all the work when you already bought a dryer that can do it?

I mix the Sta-flo 50/50 with water and spray all the fabric I'm using, then let it set for a bit and iron the opposite side that I sprayed while its still damp. I did try doing the whole yardage in the bathtub thing once...NEVER again!

I also use diluted Sta-Flo in a trigger-type bottle. If I need to spray a piece of fabric, I cover my ironing board with a towel, spray and iron (do lots of fat quarters this way). Towel catches the overspray and also protects ironing board when ironing. Then it can be tossed in the washer with a regular load of towels.

Thanks everyone for replying. I made up a spray bottle of 1 part Sta-flo and 2 parts water and tried it out on a piece of fabric I needed to use today. I sprayed it till it was very damp (on back side), waited about 7 minutes then ironed the front side. It worked wonderfully and I really like the results. Far superior to what I was getting using Best Press.

How long can I keep the solution I mixed up today? I've got about 1 1/2 cups worth. I didn't see any directions on the jug but I think I've heard here that it will only stay usable for about a week. Is this correct? If so, I'll have to start in on pressing my fat quarters now so it doesn't go bad.