Originally Posted by Prism99
Originally Posted by pittsburgpam
I've been reading the starch threads too and wondering about starching the center medalion of a giant dahlia quilt. I'm almost ready to applique it to the background and since it is a 54" circle, would it help to starch it so that I don't get stretching around the circle as I pin it and applique it?
Right now the curved edge is really nice and not wavy and I did take heed of the directions to not handle it too much so that it doesn't stretch.
I don't know. With a big piece like that, it seems to me likely that it would become distorted from handling while doing the starching and ironing. Here is a youtube video that shows how to "true up" a block with spray starch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6aplw_tVZc
I just don't think you could do this properly with a giant dahlia.
The ideal would have been to starch the fabric before cutting. This would have resulted in already-stabilized edges.
I think I would be more inclined to spray baste the entire medallion to the background fabric, making sure that there are no ripples. The spray starches are re-positionable, so it seems to me you could get everything pretty much trued up before taking it to the sewing machine. This would be easier than pinning and re-pinning, IMO. (Caution: I have never done a giant dahlia, so this is armchair speculation!)
Thank you thank you. I have a border that has some waves in it and I think this will work to fix it. I will let you know if it works. Thanks again.