Originally Posted by
joe'smom
Someone mentioned that starching really helped with applique, and I wondered if it was the background fabric or the applique piece that was starched. It seems it would be harder to turn under an edge that was stiffened with starch?
When doing machine applique, I heavily starch the *background* fabric yardage before cutting it. For this I use a 1:1 solution of Sta-Flo and water, a large wall-painting brush to apply (very fast) until the fabric is saturated, wait a couple of minutes to allow the starch time to penetrate the fibers, toss in the dryer, then iron with steam. This makes the fabric almost as stiff as cardstock, eliminating the need for stabilizer underneath the background fabric when doing machine applique. Without stiffening or stabilizer, the background fabric is very likely to stretch and distort while machine sewing around appliques.
I find that Best Press most closely resembles sizing in terms of how much it stiffens fabric. Sizing is made from chemicals and is used to give just a light stiffening to things such as cuffs and collars on shirts. Using more Best Press will not really stiffen the fabric more; it will still give just a slight crispness and stability to fabric.
Starch is made from organic sources (corn, rice, potatoes) and can be made up in different strengths. The lightest formulations will be similar to sizing, but heavier formulations will stiffen and stabilize the fabric so much that the fabric will become highly unlikely to stretch or distort, even with lots of manhandling. That is why I like it for backings; heavy starching pretty much eliminates the chances of getting puckers and tucks in the back when quilting.
Both sizing and starch wash out of fabric; neither is permanent.