wishiwerequilting

i was taught to starch the fabric until it had the consistency of construction paper. that is a fairly heavy starching! My teacher was a prize winning master quilter and she shared with us that she actually sent fabric to the dry cleaners for starching (not cleaning...just heavy starching) b/c she did not like doing it herself. She was more into the piecing and quilting part - and her work was amazing!

If your fabrics are heavily starched, (and you will find a level of starching that you are comfortable with), then they will layer together for piecing easily, the bias edges of pieces won't stretch as much, and when your pattern or intuition calls for seams to be pressed, you can usually use a fairly light press with your iron or even with your finger to get seams to cooperate.

Just like when you starch a shirt and wear it, and it feels "less starchy" as the day progresses, I find that fabrics act the same way. So heavily starched fabrics don't feel heavily starched by the time you are getting around to the quilting.

Starch also seems to help marking tools "sit" on the fabric and rinse out more easily, it seems to me. that could be just my imagination.

Hope this helps. please share your experience with us when you are done! ;)

Lynn Luker

I've been using Staflo half and half with water. I like to partially dry the fabric first to keep it off my iron. When I used the dryer I found some stiff wrinkles. Now I spray the fabric over the tub and hang it over the shower rod (with a mat or towel under to catch the drips). This makes the fabric very stiff, and so far, it's really helped me with free motion quilting. I always wash after the quilt is finished, it's nicer not being so stiff when you give it away!
It's fun to try different ways and see what works best for you! Love the 'NO Quilt Police' rule!!

Andy323

I also press my fabric before spraying as the warm fabric seems to absorb the starch more quickly. I have also found that when starching before cutting, I get precise cutting and more accurate seams. The flip side is that I must re-wash the unused portion of fabric before returning it to my stash, (silverfish) or estimate my needed yardage and only spray that portion of fabric. I buy the gallon of Staflo (use a fine misting sprayer), and there are mixing directions for how "heavy" you want your starch mixture to be! I LOVE the tip for spraying fabrics over the tub...saves the carpet from attracting dirt!

Annz

I spray and iron within a minute.

barbrdunn

One advantage of heavy starching that has not been mentioned, is that it is great if you do machine applique. If the fabrics are stiff enough, it allows you to applique without having to use either an iron-on fuseable or stabilizer. I just use a glue stick to position the applique piece and use either a satin stitich or buttonhole stitch to sew it down. I find that a real bonus.

mojo11

I spray and let it sit for a few minutes. I also make my DH shirts and they are all cotton. Spray and they sit for about an hour to soak in the starch.