Best Press
 

I have been hearing a lot about Best Press and people that use starch from the store. I could never use these products because of my asthma. Well I went into Joann's the other day and they had Best Press with no scent to it, I hadn't known that before so I bought some with a coupon. I got it home and tried it asap and I cannot believe how wonderful it works! It only takes a very light spray to make your blocks pressed flat and it stays that way. If you wanted it stiffer you can use more. I am so happy I finally took every ones reviews to heart and found it scent free! I am a really happy camper now. :thumbup::):D Hope this helps someone who didn't know either!

Yep!! I only buy the unscented myself. I tone. Down all fragrances in the house. Esp candles. Yankee Candles are the worst for strong scents.

sandy

I do love Best Press. It is on my Christmas list every year. I usually get it from my daughter and knowing her she orders it on-line from some place. She gets it in a regular bottle without the sprayer. I bought a sprayer at Sally Beauty Supply that is really supposed to be used for hair spray but it gives a very fine mist. I really like it for Best Press because it spreads it evenly and doesn't use too much. Best Press is expensive so I like for it to last as long as possible.

Sewbeadit, I am so happy for you. Unscented Best Press would be a small thing to most of us, but because of you asthma, it GREAT for you. Glad you found it.

Glad you found it. So sorry you didn't know it was available unscented. It is great stuff.

Citruscountyquilter, thanks for the idea for the spray bottle. A finer mist will make me happy.

It is least expensive to get it by the gallon at Amazon. I dilute it 50% with water and it still works just as well. I also get unscented.

I've tried it, and don't see it doing anything. I have had a bottle hanging around for a couple of years. I don't trust it not to discolor the iron so I use a plate on the bottom of the iron. I've just found a silicon iron cover and will see how that does. You can take it off and on faster than a metal cover.

I only used starch to make entredeux for heirloom sewing before decent stabilizers for embroidery came out. Everything was starched when I was a kid, and it ITCHED.

If you are used to a strong starch finish then Best Press will seem not to do anything. You have immunity!

I use unscented everything as perfumes give me headaches. So I always buy the Best Press unscented. It is expensive, so I only use it when working on something I want to be perfect, but I only make an effort to make things perfect on special quilts.

The difference between starching and using Best Press for me is that if I iron startched fabric and stitch up a block, and the grain is off, it is a pain in the old patootie trying to straighten the fabric again. I usually end up throwing it in the washer in a rinse cycle to get rid of the startch and start over again. With Best Press, it is easier to square things up again.

The big problem with Best Press is that it is so expensive.

One of the members of my quilt guild did a test using Best Press and several other different spray starches (Niagara, Faultless, and another one from LQS but I cant remember name). She cut 4 pieces of muslin, numbered each one, and pressed each using a different starch. We all had to vote for the one we felt gave the fabric the most stability--Best Press came in last. It hardly felt like the fabric had been starched at all.
I get the Niagara or Faultless at Walmart for less than $1 a can. Sometimes I find it in scent-free but don't have the issue you do with sensitivity.