Starching fabric how and when
 

Do you starch your fabric with canned spray starch or do you mix your own? Do you starch the whole yardage? What parts water and starch? In the machine or pan? I would really appreciate your help. Thank you


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I use spray starch. Sometimes I starch the yardage, then again I starch as I press the blocks as I'm sewing them together. Than after all blocks are made I give them a quick spray and press again.

I use Best Press rather than starch (which I understand doesn't make fabric as stiff as starch). I hand press my yardage after washing and drying, fold and put away. When I begin a project, I spray whatever length of yardage I'm using with the Best Press before pressing and cutting, and I spray and press throughout the piecing process. This will sometimes result in sprayed yardage going back on the shelf (if I've pressed more than I use), which doesn't concern me with Best Press; but I would be concerned with having starched yardage sitting on the shelf, in case it should attract bugs.

I use best press also. I starch as I sew blocks and then again before quilting. Makes everything lay nice and flat and less strings!

Just FYI. Best Press IS starch. I know the label says "starch alternative" but that doesn't mean it's NOT starch - that term is a marketing technique meaning it's an alternative to the traditional grocery-store starches, such as Niagra and Sta-Flo.

If you look at the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) for Best Press, you will see it is listed as a starch. It is clarified, scented, and has an added surfactant to help it absorb into the fabric faster.

I have nothing against Best Press, I like it, I just want people to be aware of what they're actually purchasing.

I've found that I actually prefer the non-aerosol Niagra spray. It's cheaper and is available at the local grocery store, which is nice when I'm on a roll at 10 pm and run out. And my family, especially both of my teenage sons, love the scent. ;)

It depends on how I intend to use the fabric. I do not pre-wash most of my fabrics for quilts. There is enough stiffness in un-washed fabric for me to accurately cut and piece, so I do not starch that fabric. Depending on the block, I might spray starch the blocks as I go. I usually spray starch an entire top and press before sandwiching. For spray starch, I just use whatever canned starch I find at Walmart or the grocery store. One can lasts me a long time.

For machine applique, however, I like to heavily starch the background fabric yardage before cutting. The easiest way for me to do this is to mix a 1:1 solution of Sta-Flo liquid laundry starch and water. Sta-Flo is readily available to me at Walmart and the grocery store. After mixing the solution, I work on my kitchen island with the yardage. I use a large wall painting brush to saturate the yardage with starch, wait a few minutes to make sure the fibers have a chance to absorb as much starch as possible, then toss the yardage in the dryer. I iron with steam (or spray with water to dampen the fabric) to re-activate the starch. Only then do I cut my background blocks for applique, and I cut them an inch larger all around (and trim back after the applique). This form of starch stiffens the fabric enough so that I do not have to use a stabilizer under the background fabric when I machine applique. Spray starch would not provide enough stiffening power for that.

I also like to heavily starch backing fabric before sandwiching, using the same method in the above paragraph.

Best Press doesn't provide the amount of stiffening I like in a spray starch, so I don't use it. One caution about spray starch -- you need to give it some time to be absorbed by the fabric fibers before you press. Otherwise it stays on the surface and either flakes as you iron or burns if you leave the iron on the starch for too long. The good thing about burned starch is that it washes out later on; it looks as if the fabric is burned, but usually it's just the starch that burned.

I mix my own with stay-flo in a spray bottle and starch before I cut. If I am making a crumb block or string block, I will dip my blocks in starch water, dry, iron and square them up and trim perfectly.

I don't starch baby clothes, or baby quilts

I use good, ole fashion spray starch ( usually Niagra) I starch and iron my fabrics before cutting. Really helps with flannels. Starching before cutting really improves cutting accuracy.