chuckbere15

I used it once and loved it. But at $9 for two cups I bought regular starch and dilute it. A half gallon cost $3 at Wal-Mart and I can mix to get the stiffness I like. I usually mix medium to heavy. The trick is that tou must wait for it to soak in the fabric and you don't get flaking or discolorization. So for $3 I get at least 2 gallons. And I must admit with this I don't have and problems with bias seams. One thing I do miss from Best Press is the nice smell.

penski

i buy Best Press at handcocks with the 40% coupon, they only have the small spray bottle size and the refill size, i bought the spray bottle size so i would have a spray bottle to use with the refill size bottle , our joanns doesnt carry BP and handcocks doesnt carry the gallon size, i use this to press mine and hubbys shirts and my fabric after the fabric has been washed and dryed for the first time after buying it , then i wrap the fabric on my comic boards and put them on my shelf, but when i used the fabric in a quilt before i cut i use heavy spray starch ,it makes the fabric just a bit stiffer and thats they way i like it before cutting my pieces

EllenwoodGa

I use best press and I love it, Plus it smells great

tenngal

I have checked the local stores near Nashville. What store did you find it?

susieqwva

You can also make your own! Do a google search for a recipe . . . it contains distilled water, vodka and essential oil in whatever scent you prefer. I have made it and love it too!

AZ Jane

This is the recipe "like" Best Press starch.

Mix together:
1 tsp scented essential oil (found in Walmart candle supplies aisle and they have lots of scents) Note: scent is optional if allergic to scents.
3 oz. vodka (YES vodka) LOL
Then add to 24oz distilled water in large spray bottle and shake well.
(Hint: Vodka is made from potatoes , a natural starch.)
..
Add one drop of food color per gallon (optional)

AZ Jane

And another!!

If you like a fragranced wrinkle releaser, you may also like this alternative.

• 2 cups distilled water
• 2 oz cheap vodka
• 12 drops of 100% pure essential oil *
• 1/3 cup liquid starch (after testing I increased this to ½ cup as my preference)

Put into a spray bottle and shake to mix before each use.
If you like it, make a gallon as follows:

• Take a gallon of distilled water and remove 4 cups ( to use for another purpose)**
• Add 1 ½ cups vodka
• 72 drops of essential oil (or amount as is your preference)
• 2 to 2 ½ cups of liquid starch

* Be sure you buy the correct scent oil. It is sold by the candle and soap making supplies at Michael’s and is called “scent”. You do NOT want the type of oil that you use in the ceramic rings that go around light bulbs or the plug in room fresheners.
** Mark gallon bottle carefully so you don’t put it into your steam iron!!!

AZ Jane

Last one, they are pretty much the same with a few tweaks!!

In a clean large jug, mix:

4 Cups of water
2 Cups of liquid
starch
4 ounces of Vodka
10 drops of essential oil fragrance

Many
quilters have questioned me about the Vodka. As an alcohol, it acts as a natural
preservative, but in addition to that, it will chemically mix with BOTH the
water and the oil of the scent to emulsify them together. I keep my jug right on
the cellar stairs and it keeps for a year that I know of, I hafta make more
after that because I use it up. I fill my little spray bottle often and always
shake it before using because the starch settles.
I bought the liquid starch
at my grocery store and it cost $3 in March of 2010 and I still have almost half
a jug.

MaryLane

Just FYI, vodka made in the USA is not made of potatoes but of grains. There are European producers that use potatoes as the base before fermentation but those are higher end vodkas and not what you would use for this application.

I suspect the reason vodka is used is because it is carbon filtered and thus completely clear and will not discolor.

Quilterfay

I vote for the vodka and water. It works just as good as Best Press. Especially when you can buy a bottle of vodka at Walmart for 11:00. It will last a long time. In Canada we have to pay a lot more for the Vodka.

You should of seen my husbands face when he came in the trailer and saw that I was pouring Vodka into a spray bottle. I hardly drink so he thought I had lost my mind. lol