butterflywing

i use sta-flo also, but i never thought of brushing it on. i use a purchased spray bottle. when i spray, i get spray all over the floor. then when i walk around, the tacky spray turns black from the bottoms of my shoes. lovely.

when you remove it from the dryer, is it still damp, or totally dry? doesn't it have wrinkles set in all over it that are hard to iron out?

jljack

I use 50/50 in a spray bottle (small bottle) and I don't usually get too much overspray. I spray it on and then wait for it to soak in before ironing, which cuts down on the white flakes. I like my stuff semi-stiff. I don't use steam.

amma

I like the 50/50 mix too :D:D:D

RatherB Quilting

LOL! My laugh for the day!

mar32428

Thanks so much for the info AND the laughs. I knew I could depend on you. I do a lot of PP but never thot of using starch to control the biases of which there are many.

I knew I shuld have checked with you first before I put on a new roof. Starch would sure have been cheaper.

JanetM

I am a bit confused. I have never used starch but probably should give it a try. If the fabric is stiff like cardstock is it difficult to press your seam to one side?

Prism99

No. It actually helps the seams stay where you iron them. The starchiness breaks down a little as you handle the fabric, so it gradually gets softer. Of course, all the starch washes out later too.

Prism99

I just let it get totally dry. It doesn't seem overly wrinkled to me, and I've never had any problem ironing wrinkles out. The only time I had problems ironing wrinkles out was years ago, when I used to prewash my fabric -- alway came out a tangled mess.

When I starch, I'm usually just starching one piece of yardage at a time -- background fabric for machine applique, for example, or fabric to be cut into bias binding. Maybe that helps?

I don't use this method for the fabrics I am going to piece together unless it is a flannel quilt or something odd that is going to have a lot of bias edges. For regular piecing, I just don't pre-wash my fabrics. They have enough stiffener in them already for accurate piecing. If I did want more stability in this kind of fabric, I would spray a little starch on.

JanetM

I need to try this, particularly when there are bias edges. Thanks!

butterflywing

i was thinking yardage. like 3 - 4 yards. i wonder what would happen. it would still be mess, but it might still iron up well.