I do not pre-wash, and have been making quilts since the mid 70's, The only time I use sizing is for applique

Can you use less stabilizers if you starch? I do a lot of machine embroidery and this would save me a lot of money.

I love well startched fabric for sewing/quilting. I also don't mind the process of doing it. I find it restful as well as "part of my process"

I'm not a pre-washer but I starch anything that I'm going to be working with at least 2 hours before, then I either air dry or put in the drier for a few minutes.

I always pre-wash fabric and never use starch. Tried it once and hated it.

Can't help but wonder if too much starch, is why some quilters need to constantly change their machine needles.

I don't embroider, so don't know if it works for all types of embroidery. My recommendation is to try it. Spray starching is definitely not enough, though. A 1:1 solution of Sta-Flo and water works for my machine applique, and I expect that is where you would start if doing embroidery too.

Keep in mind that I wash my quilts after they are finished. If you don't want to wash your embroidery, then you may not want to use starch.

i prewash all my material, so yes i starch heavy

I was never a starcher and was getting aggravated with my seams not matching or material stretching. After reading many on the board who did and why, I started. Now that I heavy starch my fabric, my seams are better.( some still don't match, but it's getting there) I am now reading that many will starch their backing, which I never have, and I am going to starch the backing on the quilt top I just finished. Hopefully this will eliminate some of the puckering I've been getting when I machine quilt. I guess it's like the age old question " To wash or not wash your fabric" before cutting.

I just started using starch. As a matter of fact I posted a question about using it correctly. I did not get an answer to this question. It was said that you should not store starched fabric because it could draw bugs. Is that true of all starch, including Niagara, or just the homemade starch? If you can't store it what do you do wth scraps, wash them? I'm with Grannyrosie, trying for more accuracy thus less headaches.

Reb, I believe any kind of starch can attract bugs. This is because starch is made from organic materials such as potatoes, rice, corn, etc. Sizing is chemically manufactured and therefore does not attract bugs, but sizing stiffens fabric considerably less than starch does.

A lot depends on where you live. In warm, humid climates where there are a lot of bugs then storage of starched fabric might present a problem. In MN and WI it has been a non-issue for me. Some of my starched fabric has been stored for years without attracting bugs.