Originally Posted by
maviskw
Why can't we put the fabric into the starch, like we did back in the old day. I would put enough water in a bucket so that the fabric could absorb most of it. Add starch to the desired strength, then put the fabric, unfolded, into the bucket. Work it around until it absorbs all it can. Be sure all of it is wet. Then dry on the line or in a dryer and iron it. This way you would be sure that ALL the fabric has starch. If I painted it on, I'm sure I would miss some.
I tried something similar with Sta-Flo at first, but quickly realized it would use up too much Sta-Flo at a 1:1 dilution. I haven't done it in awhile, but it seems to me I can heavily starch several yards of fabric with just one cup of Sta-Flo and one cup of water with the painting method. I am very heavy handed with the starch solution, which seems to change the fabric color sufficiently so that it is easy to see which areas have been covered, plus I fold the fabric on itself and let it sit for a few minutes so any spots I might have missed have a chance to absorb the solution from the sopping wet parts. You could dilute the Sta-Flo more than I do, but I figure if I'm going to go to the trouble of starching at all, I might as well get the fabric as stiff (and stable) as possible. No one would want to wear clothing starched the way I do it!
I have tried other dilutions. Tried full-strength Sta-Flo once, but it seemed to be difficult for the fabric fibers to absorb it without any water mixed in. 2:1 water and Sta-Flo might be enough, but 4:1 doesn't seem as if it would provide enough stabilization for the trouble (although that would undoubtedly be a better dilution for clothing!).
I am wondering what kind of starch you used years ago too. I would think powdered starch would be considerably less expensive than Sta-Flo, although I can't complain about the cost of Sta-Flo considering it lasts a long time for my uses.