To starch or not to startch.....
 

I am really interested to know how many of you ladies and gents out there starch your fabric first....
Until today I have never used starch but I am making a large quilt with half square triangle that appeared to have a life of their own and then I remembered that some people use startch to stabilise their fabric.......wow it appears to make life so much easier....

But can I please ask you some questions...

1. If you use starch do you use it on all projects?
2. I starched the fabric before I cut it.....is that correct?
3. Will it have any effect on my machine if I use it a lot?
4. Should I wash it out of the quilt before I sandwich it....or when sandwiched or simply leave it in?

I am using a spray on startch......any advice re the use of it would be gratefully received
Many thanks

I'm a pre-washer and a starcher. I only buy for projects and not for stash. When I iron my fabric after washing, I always use starch. I used to use the spray on starch, and actually guess I still do. But I now buy a liquid concentrate that I mix in a 50/50 solution vs. the readily available canned spray starch. I usually iron the fabric enough to get it warm, spray on the starch, let it sit for a minute or so to let it soak into the fibers of the fabric and then iron it to within an inch of it's life. Then I start cutting. And if the cut/sewn pieces decide to misbehave in the piecing process I starch them some more. Have never had an issue with my (Viking Platinum) machine and the starch. I also hand quilt and don't notice the starch being an issue then either. I wait until the quilt is totally quilted and bound before I wash. Then was the quilt as I would anything else.

Hope this info helps. I'm sure others will be along shortly with more info/opinions.

I starch the snot out of fabric most of the time. precuts and curved pieces the exception. I make my own with the sta flo stuff and can bath the fabric before cutting. I make mine really really heavy starched so it can almost stand up. i find it helps a lot for me. good luck.

I'm with Sahm. I starch mine until it's like cardstock. I've never had a machine issue. The starch stays in until the quilt is finished and then I wash the quilt.

Oh yeah...stiff as a piece of metal. Took me a while to find out this trick but it's well worth it.

My Dad will iron for me and he gets it pretty stiff :) .

I just special ordered some from our local little store as Walmart doesn't carry the Sta-flo any more :(

I've been using starch for many many years- started sewing clothes way back in the mid 60's...we always starched our fabrics before cutting- it does not mess up your machine at all- nothing to worry about- I have always washed finished items --- quilts after the quilting/binding, clothes after the last seam, button, zipper- what ever finishes the item- just to get rid of any marks I may have made, any oil, soil, starch-what ever from making it in the first place- (clothes often were re-starched after laundering- if they needed it- some tops still get starched/ironed after laundering) and---I've been using good ole' Niagra spray starch for 50+ years- if you like using it- go ahead & use it is my feelings about it. :) I've never experienced any negative issue from starching my fabric.

I starch before I cut -- and these days I am washing almost all my fabric. I hate ironing, but that is of course a necessity (sigh). I starch squares moderately, but if I am making any kind of diagonal cuts (HST's, etc) I llike them STIFF). Also, if I am going to fussy cut where it won't be on grain, it is a board. I had used the Niagra spray starch (non-aerosol ) but the odor kept me from working for long periods at a time. I switched to Sta-Flo + water, the odor is minimal and I can iron as long as I can stand.

I'm going to try the stay flo liq before I cut see if it makes a diff!!
Thanks all!!

I'm a fairly new quilter but quickly found that it's so much easier to cut and piece with starched, stiff fabric. I really like BEST PRESS, but it's kinda expensive, so I use the Niagra non-aerosol spray (less than $2 at Walmart). I like the smell! I starch before cutting, after sewing each seam, and then the entire top before basting/quilting. It softens up once the project is completed, so I don't really have to wash the quilt when finished.

I'm new to quilting too and I didn't want to take the time to starch. Well, I've changed my mind. I get much better results in cutting straight and in squaring up. I will be starching from now on. I've decided that I just can't take any shortcuts in the prep work.