Originally Posted by EasyPeezy
I make my own starch. In a large bowl or pot, stir 1/2 cup cornstarch into
1 cup of cold water. Stir in boiling water (2 quarts for heavy solution;
4 quarts for medium and 6 quarts for light solution).
If you only need a small amount then half or quarter above quantities.
Sometimes I add a bit more water for the heavy solution as it gets
a bit too thick. You can try and adjust as you wish.
When the cornstarch solution is cool, I use a paintbrush to apply it on
my fabric (stir the solution often or shake if it's in a spray bottle).
Let is soak for at least 30 mins. If I don't have time to iron
I just put everything in a ziploc and put it in the fridge for the next day.
If it's too wet I roll the fabric in a towel first and iron on the wrong side
with a cloth on top so that the starch doesn't stick to my iron. When
the heat has absorbed most of the humidity then I continue to iron
without the cloth. Hope this helps.
By the way, I finally tried Mary Ellen's Best Press. I wasn't too impressed.
It's ok for small jobs. I think I'll keep using my cornstarch mixture. :-D
What memories! I'm in the process of writing a series of articles about my earliest days of quilting, when I was about 6. I remember mixing the cornstarch and dipping my finger in the mixture and rubbing the seams and edges of the Sunbonnet Sue before pressing. I hated that I had to wait until after supper before we could do that, but it was summer time, and there was no fire in the stove to heat the irons. Ironing could only be done after breakfast, or after the supper dishes were done. My mother had an electric iron and used liquid starch - But Granny, Ah, yes, corn starch and irons on the wood stove.