Starch/Sizing -
 

For most projects, I avoid using it.

The one or two times I did, my pieces stretched a lot!

Is there a trick to 'using it properly'?

I've come to the conclusion that soaking the fabric, and trying to iron/press it dry is NOT the right way to do it.

I used spray heavy duty starch for my current quilt and it's been a life saver. My pieces are 1.5" squares and it keeps them nice even. I just spray it on and then iron away. I'm using bounce sorry for my current quilt nd like it too.

I don't know how others do it but I never try to press it when it is very wet. I roll mine up in up in something and get a lot of the water out then press it on the ironing board with my hands and smooth it as much as I can then lift my iron up and down to press never moving the iron on the fabric as that will stretch it. I hope this helps you.

I starch, let it soak overnight in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.
Next day, if it's yardage, I spin it and half dry in the dryer. Then it's easy to iron.
For fat quarters and anything smaller, I put them between layers of towels and
let it absorb most of the water. You want the fabric slightly damp but definitely
not soaking wet. Then I put a big old towel on my ironing board, and cover
the fabric with a piece of muslin and press. When it's 99% dry I remove
the muslin and continue pressing. There might be a slight distortion but that
doesn't bother me. At least the fabric doesn't fray or stretch while I'm sewing.

I use Best Press and spray and iron the fabric before I cut it. I don't use enough to get the fabric wet. Then I don't use it at all after that.

I soak a piece of fabric in a mixture of 50% blue liquid starch and 50% water. I squish out as much moisture as I can; I never wring it though. I hang it somewhere to dry (usually my pieces are 20" X 20" or less so I hang them over the edge of my ironing board) and put something to absorb the drips underneath. When it is totally dry I iron with the grain of the selvage. I don't notice any stretching or distortions of the fabric. Trying to iron the fabric dry when the fabric is wet has not worked for me - the starch scorches.

I use half way heavy Sta-Flo and it makes piecing---------actually any sewing--------so much easier.

I just spray----------don't wet the fabric, just dampen.

I use this method as well. Soak , air dry, then iron. Best advice ... let the starch dry prior to pressing/ironing. Depending on the project ..I will alter the strenght of the starch . Currently work ing a log cabin with skinny strips..some one inch. Other than paper piecing , this( starch) is the best method for accuracy.
I especially like to starch scrappy projects as the grain ( lenght or cross) is not quickly determined on bits of scraps. starching keeps them all behaving and playing well together.