shirley m larson

I went to the liquor store and the only potato volka i could buy was a very expensive one from Poland, I was wondering if there is a difference in the homemade starch made with potato or with grain based . Shirley

hokieappmom

I've never heard of starch made with alcohol. I mix water and Sta-Flo concentrate which works great for me.

dunster

Wow, I can tell you're not a drinker - it's vodka! LOL And nope, I don't drink it either. Really. The recipes I've seen for making your own starch didn't specify what kind of vodka, and a lot of them didn't use vodka at all.

Jackie Spencer

Would'nt potato based anything be a big bug attracksion?

ewecansew

Just use the cheapest vodka on the shelf. Do they sell the mini-bottles (like samples) where you live? Just buy one of those and try it in the spray with water. Nobody said you had to drink it. LOL

Prism99

It's homemade sizing that is made with vodka, not homemade starch. For sizing, I don't think it matters what type of vodka; at least, it wasn't specified in the recipes I've seen. Sizing does not stiffen fabric as much as starch does.

Homemade starch can be made with powdered corn starch, potato starch, rice starch, and I'm sure there are others. Corn starch is the most common and can be purchased off the shelf in the baking aisle of any grocery store. For people with an allergy to corn, potato and rice starches are alternatives. I have seen these sold in powdered form on the internet.

Starch can be attractive to bugs, but it depends greatly on where you live and how you store your fabrics. Cardboard boxes and humid tropical climates are a problem. Plastic boxes in WI, where I live, there is no problem. Not enough bugs, I guess, and not hungry enough to chew through plastic!

Edit: I should add that the sizing recipes that call for starch are usually trying to substitute for Mary Ellen's Best Press, which is a sizing product not a starch.

virtualbernie

In the recipe I saw (don't remember where I saw it), she said use the cheapest vodka you could find. She swears the cheaper the better. Worked for me!

LadyElisabeth

Sew, let me get this straight, the vodka isn't for drinking, it's for soaking and ironing. There have been times in my quilting life when I thought I might like to "drink" something, when nothing was working as it was suuposed to.

Buckeye Rose

any vodka will do as they are all distilled from starch rich grains or potatoes

ewecansew

Vodka is usually made with a distilled grain product. Sometimes potato product is used. Corn is classed as a grain. Google---how is vodka made. Yes, you can drink the mixture.