Don't do what I did!
04-04-2012, 02:18 PM
#32
Super Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Bacliff, TX on Galveston Bay
Posts: 1,174
I have washed strips before, and there was a real mess! I even used a lingerie bag, too, but there was still a mess! I didn't starch them, but wanted to wash them to go with other fabric that had been washed.
I love learning lessons from people who have already made the mistakes - sorry you are so tangled up. If you decide to experiment with the process again, you might try putting them in a lingerie bag, then into the dryer. Never done it but it might help since it keeps my bras from getting all mixed up.
04-05-2012, 03:29 AM
#35
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: New Hampshire & Maine
Posts: 3,300
I was always told NOT to ever starch fabric, spray-on or liquid, as bugs love to eat it and will ruin your quilts. What I do is use sizing, which stiffens, but is not a starch. Granted, it is a spray-on (haven't found a liquid one yet), but 99.9% of us iron our fabrics anyway. I even use sizing when I iron my DH's shirts - look just as good as starching. Yes, I know, I should send the shirts to the laundry for them to do so I have more time to quilt! :-)
An ironing tip: never, ever, ever use a steam iron. Water and irons, do not mix. Water will cause an iron to leak (see Rowenta thread from last week) eventually because of corrosion of the internal parts. Those of us who "sprinkle" their fabrics and use a dry iron, have just as crisp fabric as those who use a steam iron and we have irons that will basically last forever.
Good luck with your tangles!
An ironing tip: never, ever, ever use a steam iron. Water and irons, do not mix. Water will cause an iron to leak (see Rowenta thread from last week) eventually because of corrosion of the internal parts. Those of us who "sprinkle" their fabrics and use a dry iron, have just as crisp fabric as those who use a steam iron and we have irons that will basically last forever.
Good luck with your tangles!
04-05-2012, 04:19 AM
#36
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Rock Island, IL
Posts: 297
Thanks for your courage to tell your screw ups. I believe in telling all too so that beginning quilters don't see our long road to lovely quilts as a instant road to success. We all learn from our many mistakes and mishaps. I use a portable drying rack with a cheap plastic tablecloth under it for drying that type thing. I also use my fingers as a squeege when removing the strips from the starch bath.
04-05-2012, 05:59 AM
#37
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Douglas County, GA
Posts: 1,722
I do the small tub of liquid starch thing with all my fabrics, big pieces or little, but I have an outdoor clothesline on which to hang them and prefer them to be slightly damp yet when I iron them. If you do not have an outdoor line and are only doing strips, is there a way you can hang them to dry over the bathtub or in the shower?
04-05-2012, 07:06 AM
#40
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 727
Since I have been using starch, I love love it. Starching the fabric before using the Accugo really helps get nice cuts.I have a million 2 1/2 strips to sub cut so I thought I would save myself some time and make a large batch of liquid starch and soak the strips and then toss them into the dryer. What a mess!! It will take me forever to untangle and flatten so they can be pressed!!!! What the heck was I thinking!!!???!!!! So they are in the washing machine right now. That is what I get for being lazy!!!
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