When I am using starch for my appliqué, I use “sta-flo” liquid starch and use it full strength with a small paintbrush. I just iron my freezer paper to the back of my shape, paint on starch around the outside edge of the fabric and fold it over the edges of the freezer paper, and iron in place. When it cools, it will hold the shape when I remove the freezer paper, until I use Elmer’s school glue to paste in into place, iron again, and hand or machine stitch it down. They are pretty stiff, (but needle turn is too difficult for my clumsy hands), and all of the stiffness washes out.