I pink the edges of my fabric rather than zigzag it, and that works fine. Also, I hang mine to dry and use spray starch when I iron it. It comes out nice. I have a bottle of StayFlo (?) starch. I mixed 1 part starch to 3 parts water, and that gives me a good amount of stiffness. Too bad about your allergies. I had that test years ago, and I was allergic to 27 out of 29 substances, especially grass and weeds. I had the shots for three years, and my allergies went away.