Skylark53

I got some great advice the other day about a problem I was having with some stretching while sewing together 6" blocks to make a basic patchwork quilt. I concluded I should try starch. I started looking around for tutorials and advice on how to use it, and basically everyone says to use it before you cut your fabric. Well, I've already cut all 238 squares, and they were washed and ironed beforehand. Can I starch my 6" squares to make them go together better? Or will this distort things? I've got some Best Press on hand now.

SlightlyOffQuilter

starching after you cut can be VERY tricky, since your material will be damp when pressing, and the chance for distorting the fabric is high. You would have to be extremely careful not to move the iron when pressing, it can be done, but it is going to take patience.

ckcowl

Sure you can. Just don't iron back & forth---press. I starch during all phases of creating a quilt top. During block construction if I need to, before cutting, after cutting, while constructing a block, after the block is finished; when ever I need to.

Craftnut

Dilute your Best Press by 50%, it will work just the same and save you money.

jo bauer

Been there, done that. You can starch after cutting, but you have to be very careful because you are wetting the fabric again. Here's what I do. Use either canned spray starch, or a mix you've made and put it in a spray bottle with a wide spray setting (I have one gardeners use). Cover the ironing board with a towel and place the squares on it. Spritz each until damp and LET DRY or at least on the verge of being dry. Use the iron and PRESS (not iron) each square until dry. Put the iron straight down on each square and avoid the temptation to squiggle it around. Do this until each square is completely dry and can be safely moved. i make sure they are cool. Sounds like a lot of hassle but it goes pretty fast and saves me a ton of frustration. The caveat here is that if they have been stretched too far out of square this helps but doesn't correct the problem, so I cut them again and make a smaller quilt or add more squares to the quilt at the newly cut sq. size (i.e. from 6" to say 5-1'2")

Skylark53

Thanks for the tips - I hadn't even thought about ironing different after the squares had been cut! After I had cut all my squares and worked with my layout they had gotten pretty wrinkled again due to playing around with them and some "helpful" cats. I sprayed them with water and ironed, not pressed, them again - whoops! That may have been part of my problem but I did re measure each square before sewing and some parts did need a little trimming ( but only by about 1-2 millimeters. If they do stretch a bit while starching, can I just re-square them up, or is the fabric ruined?

I'd consider trimming them down but I had *just* enough fabric to make the size quilt I have.

bearisgray

Make sure that the fabric is DRY before PRESSING.

If IRONED while WET, the pieces will probably stretch. Some fabrics will STRETCH a LOT. I know, because I did this.

The fabrics from SSI (probably late 1990s) are stretchier than most even while dry.

ube quilting

One trick that I use when starching already cut pieces is to spray them on the back side of the material so it is damp and let it dry before PRESSING. My pieces have stayed the shape they were cut to.

Hope this helps.
peace

citruscountyquilter

One of the problems that many have with starch is they spray too heavily (get the fabric too wet) and press too quickly so the starch doesn't have time to absorb into the fibers of the fabric. You are more likely to get distortion this way in addition to flakes and gunk on your iron.

When I starch I spray lightly and gently roll the pieces up and put them in a plastic bag to mellow out a bit. This is much like was done back in the day when clothes were sprinkled and then ironed. Anyone remember putting sprinkled clothes in the fridge if you couldn't get to them right away? When the starch has fully absorbed into the fabric it won't be wet but will be some damp. Gently press, not iron, to set the starch. Pressing is putting the dry iron down and then picking it up to move it rather than sliding it over the fabric which is ironing. I find if I do it this way fabric doesn't stretch and my iron and board stays much cleaner.

If your iron gets gunky from the starch use a moist magic eraser (like Mr Clean brand but any brand will do) on a cold iron. Works great to get the gunk off. I have a shiny sole plate on my iron and it's not teflon coated so don't know how the eraser would work on that. Perhaps someone who has that type of iron could advise on this.

bearisgray

Back in the day - 1950s - my Mom made a starch mixture in the bread mixing bowl - white starch mixed with cold water, hot water added to that, and then a little rectangle of blue Satina was added to that.

The clothes were dipped in this huge bowl - I don't remember if they were wrung out by hand, or went through the wringer again - and then line dried.

Then they were sprinkled, rolled up, and "let set" for a day or two. I think some things went in the freezer (more room) instead of the refrigerator when one could not get them to right away. Some things took a long time to "get to".

Even the overalls got starched - at the end of the run - Mom felt that the starch helped release the grime that accumulated on them. We were a farm family - the overalls usually were worn until they got very dirty.

What went in the starch? Aprons, dresses, overalls, tablecloths (most of the time the table was covered with oilcloth - wonder why it was called that) blouses, skirts. There was an order - what needed the most stiffening went in first.

What did not go in the starch? Sheets, handkerchiefs, underwear, socks, towels

Don't remember: bedding, man's work shirts,

There were several things I despised ironing: A couple of aprons with ruffles on the shoulders, and the puffed sleeves on my much younger sisters' dresses.