AngelinaMaria

I have from my DH's old stuff a can of "Light Body Magic Sizing Fabric Finish" spray. What is this and is it similar to using starch?

Also, I wanted to get starch at my Dollar Tree store and they only had "Heavy Magic Starch" spray. Is it okay to use heavy or should I buy regular strength somewhere else? I assume you just spray a light to medium mist and then press until dry and flat? I am going to press out a pack of fat quarters (a Moda bundle so they are folded pretty tight with lots of heavy fold creases).

Prism99

Sizing is made from chemicals (which bugs don't eat) and is lighter in weight than starch. Starch is made from corn or potatoes, etc.

It's fine to use heavy spray starch. Just allow time for the starch to sink into the fabric fibers before ironing; that way the starch won't flake and you are less likely to scorch the starch.

jaciqltznok

just spray with water, place in a plastic bag/container and put in the fridge over night...then press using sizing

pippi65

I know I hear people always say the thing about the bugs when you use starch...but in my whole life(won't go there) I've never found a bug of any kind near anything I starched. So what kind of bugs do you find? Sorry...I went on a tangent there. I use heavy starch all the time just as someone else said let it soak in before you iron it or you'll get those big flakes.

QuiltE

When I first learned to quilt we were taught to use the sizing .... we can't buy it here in Canada any longer!
I always think of it as a weak starch, and I do not know the technical difference, so interesting to read what the others have said.

What I always liked about it is that it does not flake, like the starch does. Interesting that you have said to not iron immediately .... how long do you let it sit and soak before pressing?

Mary Ellen's Best Press must have the border sealed up, as now the spray starch is becoming hard to find. And MEBP is just too costly here, so I've avoided it.

JulieR

I love Heavy Magic Starch. I haven't had any problems with flaking, so I guess the wait time isn't that long. I also don't douse it, just use a light mist like you said.

If you're worried, use the starch on the back and plain water on the front. Same result, no fear of scorching.

romanojg

I starch especially when working with bias and I've used this starch without any problems. No matter what starch you use let it set a few seconds until it disapears before ironing so that you don't get white flakes and you are good to go.

Prism99

I think the bug thing depends largely on where you live. I'm in WI and have never had a problem with bugs and starched fabric -- ever -- but I mention it because some people in warm humid climates are adamant about not storing starched fabric.

How fast spray starch sinks in depends a lot on the fabric. Unwashed fabric has surface treatments that can slow down absorption of liquids, including starch, so starch has a tendency to sit on the surface for awhile. Washed fabric will absorb starch faster.

I don't use spray starch often. For the most part, I heavily starch yardage before cutting, using a 1:1 solution of Sta-Flo liquid laundry starch and water. I "paint" this solution onto the yardage with a large wall painting brush (reserved for this use!) until the yardage is saturated, toss in the dryer, then iron with steam. This is my standard treatment for all backing fabrics, foundation blocks for machine applique, and fabric that will be cut on the bias.

On the few occasions I use spray starch, I am very careful about overspray and will put a towel down in front of the ironing board to catch it. I am also very careful of iron temperature, because I have scorched spray starch by not waiting long enough for it to sink into the fabric. It probably takes just a few minutes for spray starch to penetrate fabric, but it always seems like forever to me when I am at the ironing board and impatient to get going! That's why I like pre-starched fabric. It is easily re-activated with steam or a burst of water spray.

Peckish

Silverfish!

MacThayer

I pre-wash everything. When I pull my fabric out of the washer, I take it straight to the iron and "press" it. If it's a little too wet, I'll let it dry a bit. If I'm using it soon, I'll starch it at the same time. If I'm just storing it, I'll fold it neatly, and put it away, but when I got to use it, I spray it with distilled water (water is very hard here, don't want stains) until it is quite wet, put it in a plastic bag, leave it for several hours in a cool spot (fridge or outdoors, depending on the weather), and it comes out uniformly just moist enough. That's when I starch, giving it time to soak in, and press.

I have insul-bright installed on a wide long plywood board, and I made a tight flannel cover to go over that. The cover can be removed and washed. This is what I use to press on. The flannel really "holds" the fabric and makes it much less likely to move and "stretch" or otherwise distort the fabric during the pressing process. I just set it on top of a table that is the right height for me (I'm short) and it works wonderfully. I'm still careful to "press" and not iron until the fabric is dry. Makes a real difference.