What type of starch do you use when pressing?

I am having a hard time pressing out the seams of some fat quarters. I'm using the heck out of my steam button on the iron, but may have to resort to something else.

Thanks!

Whatever is on sale!

I just buy the cheapest cans of starch that I can find. Some only use Mary Ellen's Best Press.

I mix my own:
1 cup Sta Flo Concentrate
1 cup water
1 cup Fabreeze
Put in spray bottle and starch away.

Best Press!

I do the same as you, but I don't use the Fabreeze. If I want the item to be heavy starched then I change the ratio of Sta Flo to water.

woo, what a purty machine! I want one that color, lol! :-D
thanks for the starch recipe, too :XD:

I use Faultless with the blue top.

Yup I make my own for piecing and I use best press on the finished top..

Best Press is really the best, but it is kind of pricey. It smells good too. Every scent I've tried was fabulous!

I mix my own and use plain cornstarch.

Sta Flo concentrated, dilute 50/50, lasts a lot longer than the aerosol cans.

Faultless with the red top as well. Blue or red, depends on the project.

It just makes it smell pretty.

Thanks for the recommendations! I might splurge on the Best Press, but it's great to know I can always just use Faultless. I have 2 cans on hand.

I will try that next time! :)

I love both of these ideas. I Just bought a bottle of best press. And from now on I will follow your guys' style: febreezey starch on piecing (thanks for the recipe), best press on finished top. Prior to this I've just used heavy spray starch, which works fine. But this Sounds like more fun. lol...

Mary Ellen's Best Press works very well. Light but holds well.

Quilter of less then a year and I use this too but never thought of using Fabreze thanks for the addition. Doing it this way is cheaper also and I think it works well--- not alot of experience in quilting and learn alot from many here.

I like Magic Sizing instead of starch because it doesn't flake when you iron it. It does as good a job as a light starch.

I know this is not a new post, but I just ran across it and have a couple of questions:

I love Fabreeze...but where or what type would you buy to get a cup of it? I see it in the cans, but what are you using to 'pour' it out? Is there a pump style bottle? Or an aroma-therapy type bottle? Refill of some sort? Hmmm...

How long does it stay good? I've read the starch you mix by hand needs to be used within 2 days or it sours. True? That's alot of mixing starch as I don't think I could use this quantity in that time frame - at least not normally (or maybe I don't quilt fast enough?)

I'd really like to try this starch recipe.

Thanks!
Debbie in Austin

I can not find Faultless, Sta Flo or Niagara liquid starch in Canada. I have checked the large grocery chains (Loblaws, Sobey's and Zehr's as well as Canadian Tire, Zellers and Wal-Mart)and no one carries it. I can find spray starch (Easy On) in the grocery store near the army base at Base Borden. I guess those poor soldiers have to press their dress uniforms but that's the only place and kind I can find. My husband has to take a trip to the States in January and I told him I want him to bring me back starch. I hope airport security doesn't think he has some new secret ingredient for a terrorist attack.

Debbie, I buy a spray bottle of Fabric Freshener at the Dollar Tree. Fabreeze is a fabric freshener that comes in a spray bottle. I have never seen it any other way. I have had mine mixed up for several months and this does not spoil. The startch does not spoil and neither does the Fabreeze so why would the mixture spoil? The one they make with cornstartch is the one they say spoils.

Thx for these tips! Quilting 20yrs and never used spray starch, but now stepping up my game, so to speak and grateful for all the tips here. Especially love the $$ saving tips b/c quilting and sewing should be accessible to everyone! I started on a basic Singer mechanical (actually 3 different ones) and remnants from my job at JoAnns. Now I can afford more and have a huge stash including Balis and other pricey fabrics, have several new machines, but I don't accept that one has to have a TOL machine and all the fancy notions in order to quilt.