Patti Mahoney

Yep, I know about putting clothing in the fridge after starching. My sister is 10 years older than I am and I used to do her ironing for her when I was a young teenager. She liked me to very slightly dampen her blouses with water, then starch with the liquid starch/water mixed in an old soda bottle with one of those sprinkle stoppers, put them in the fridge for a while, then Iron. They used to turn out really nice and crisp looking.....An old old old fashinged thing, I guess.

sewtruterry

I had to laugh when reading all of these post as you all have to be really tall. Because around here since I am short ( just under 5 feet tall) the starch is always on the top shelf. And yes it helps to ask an older woman in the store as they usually know what you are talking about. Yes if you are keeping the fabric for more than a day before ironing you must keep in the fridge to keep it from mildewing or molding and becoming very nasty smelling. If you are going to make up your own starch just remember that you do not have to make up a big batch. Just make up what you think that you will need and if you don't use it all just toss the rest away. I do use the Stay-Flo brand all of the time as I use it to prepare my fabric to cut it with my Cri-Cut machine for applique and for GFG quilt that I am working on right now. Of course everyone is correct in that you do not want to leave it in the fabric for very long as it will attract bugs some that you can see and others that you can't but if you put the fabric in an air tight container this is less likely to happen.

veryvirginia

You can make your own -- go online for the recipe.

vjengels

Make your own by using 1 Tablespoon of corn startch to 1 pint of cool DISTLLED water. if you use tap water you WILL get mold. I have had a problem since I started using this recipe; I starch my fabric ALOT.

mash43quilter

I got a great hand spray bottle of starch at Wal Mart. It is a 16 oz spray bottle, not aersol. I think it is Niagara, this is a new product.

weezie

I buy Sta-Flo in Walmart. I haven't even looked in other stores because I always find it in Walmart ... so far. And I buy Niagara liquid with the sprayer.

weezie

Please clarify something for me, please.

I recently washed, starched (with Sta-Flo), & ironed a LOT of fabric, only to discover that I did not like the combination of colors together, so I put most of it back in my stash. I thought the bugs eating starched fabric was a problem only if the starch was home-made. If you know whether the bug problem applies to ALL starched fabric, please tell me and I will re-wash all those again. I'm reluctant to do that because there is a lot of fabric there, but I am even more reluctant to have bugs eat it.

TN Gal

I found a recipe for Spray Starch Alternative....no starch in it....is 2 cups distilled water, 2 Tbsp vodka, 8-10 drops Lavender Essential Oil. Put in spray bottle and shake before using. Vodka helps get the wrinkles out of the fabric and gives them a slight crisp feel. I think it also helps mix the oil with the water.

BeebeeA

I found some at Wal Mart. Stay Flo. I usually mix it 1/2 with water in a spray bottle. that works great and it doe not make the fabric too stiff.

MaryAnna

Lucky you! I have to be careful of my temps/humidy in my home. in the South, mold/mildew/insects are a big problem. So these homemade 'organic' starch recipes are not good for us as they attract bugs, both big and small!
Blessings,
MaryAnna