I have read some discussion on using starch on fabric while making a quilt...since I'm new, I didn't see any of the beginnings of this discussion, so could you ladies tell me how and when you use it. I'm making a baby quilt and have washed all the fabric, now ready to press it before cutting. Should I use starch now, or after sewing blocks, then starch and press??? If there's a better way to do things than what I've done in the past, I'll jump at the chance.

If you go to the top of the screen click on search... type in starch you will pull up a list of all the starch conversations :wink: And you can read from start to finish :thumbup:

Now, when pressing down seams, before squaring up your blocks, before quilting, anytime you want to. Once it's done you can wash the starch out.

You'll get different responses -

After getting them all - if you want, do some experimenting for yourself and see what works better for you.

I ALWAYS wash the fabric before cutting it. Many don't.

Some ALWAYS use starch. I only rarely use it.

If you do a search on "starch" or "sizing" - you'll get a couple hours of reading.

If I'm going to use starch I use it when I'm ironing my fabric out for cutting.

I used to starch everytime I went to the ironing board and I must say, they were standing at attention when I got done. I do not use as much as I used to.

Thank you, thank you, have been doing a lot of reading on the subject...hadn't seen the "search" at the top of the options, so now will use it for a lot of my questions.

I'm a new quilter, but my LQS introduced me to Best Press clear spray starch and I love it! It's very light and doesn't get that flaky white stuff. I tried some at a class and decided I liked it. :)

What you will notice - there are a lot of opinions. Eventually you will figure out what works best for you.

I recently posted about making my own spray starch. All I use any more. PM me if you want the recipe or I can post it for all to see.

Please post it for all of us. Pretty please?

I don't prewash my fabric but, if I did, I would definitely starch it before cutting. Spray starch has always been problematic for me. I starch large pieces of fabric (especially backings) by mixing up a solution of Sta-Flo liquid laundry starch and water and "painting" it on with a large wall painting brush until the fabric is saturated. I then toss the fabric in the dryer and later iron with steam. For backing fabric I use a 1:1 solution but for preparing fabrics for piecing a top I would probably use a 1:3 (weaker) solution.

The advantage of starch is that it stabilizes the fabric so it doesn't stretch or distort as you handle it. Cuts are more accurate and piecing is more accurate. Heavily starching the backing fabric for machine quilting helps ensure no tucks or puckers.

Yes Frannie, please post your recipe, I wonder if it is the same as mine, I just started doing this last week.

I always starch before cutting. I found it made a world of difference when cutting and sewing. You will figure out what works best for you.

I did under main topics.

Thanks for the starch recipe. Question: Is this good for starching hand-crocheted doilies? Is it strong enough for this? Any suggestions? Thanks!