Arggh Spray Starch!!

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10-31-2015, 08:01 AM

#41

klswift

Super Member

Join Date: Dec 2012

Posts: 1,857

it probably is the aerosol. I am also very sensitive to sprays and scents. I have my unscented starch in a hand spray bottle and I water it down. I only spray projects that have a lot of bias cuts.

10-31-2015, 08:11 AM

#42

Manalto

Senior Member

Join Date: Feb 2012

Posts: 673

Quote:

Originally Posted by Genden

...I avoid chemicals whenever possible...There are exceptions like fusible for applique because I don't have another alternative.

Really? How was applique done before the invention of fusible?

10-31-2015, 08:21 AM

#43

Onebyone

Power Poster

Join Date: Jan 2011

Location: Southern USA

Posts: 16,513

[QUOTE=EasyPeezy;7360929]I can't stand all those aerosol sprays.
Don't know why people keep using those. They are bad for your health and for the environment.

According to the environmental studies, the propellants used now are no longer harmful to the ozone layer. Proper disposal of the can is advised. Of course if someone has a physical reaction then don't use them.

10-31-2015, 08:48 AM

#44

feffertim

Super Member

Join Date: Jan 2011

Location: Desert Hot Springs Ca

Posts: 2,633

I use best press. Its much better than starch and makes the fabric feel wonderful.

10-31-2015, 09:19 AM

#45

caspharm

Super Member

Join Date: Jan 2011

Location: Nevada

Posts: 6,958

Quote:

Originally Posted by feffertim

I use best press. Its much better than starch and makes the fabric feel wonderful.

Same here. I also use a 50/50 version to remove wrinkles on backing I load on my LA.

10-31-2015, 10:36 AM

#46

Genden

Senior Member

Join Date: Oct 2014

Posts: 390

Quote:

Originally Posted by Manalto

Really? How was applique done before the invention of fusible?

Was machine applique successfully done before fusibles or some other way to stick the fabrics together? If so, I would like to know about it. Not only would it bypass the chemicals, but the cost.

10-31-2015, 10:45 AM

#47

fruitloop

Senior Member

Join Date: Oct 2014

Posts: 540

I haven't seen any great looking vintage machine applique when a stabilizer of some kind wasn't used. The old way doesn't mean the best way, just that it was the only way. It makes no sense to me to revert back to those methods.

10-31-2015, 12:22 PM

#48

carol45

Senior Member

Join Date: Sep 2009

Location: Pikesville, MD

Posts: 720

When I don't have really large pieces of fabric, like for a scrappy quilt, I put the pieces in a zip lock bag and pour starch in there, seal it and let the starch sink into the fabric. I add more if it's all swallowed up, until everything is uniformly damp. Then I open it up and let it dry a bit before I iron it. Works well for me. I also cover my ironing board with a sheet before I iron the starched fabric.

10-31-2015, 12:48 PM

#49

Bree123

Super Member

Join Date: Jul 2014

Location: Illinois

Posts: 2,140

Quote:

Originally Posted by Genden

Was machine applique successfully done before fusibles or some other way to stick the fabrics together? If so, I would like to know about it. Not only would it bypass the chemicals, but the cost.

As far as what I've been told, before fusible, appliqué was done with a turned edge, or else it frayed like crazy. You can try Fabric Fusion instead of fusible web. I've used it with children to make "quilts". It's designed to repair hems/seams for people who don't sew (or in cases like with a dress my niece had where it tore by snaps & I couldn't get the seam under my machine foot). It isn't as nice or quite as permanent as web, but it can work.

10-31-2015, 01:14 PM

#50

Greenheron

Super Member

Join Date: Nov 2010

Location: Beautiful Briery Mountain in WV

Posts: 2,551

Quote:

Originally Posted by bearisgray

Mom used her bread mixing bowl for mixing the starch solution in.

The procedure (as I remember it)

white starch (Argo brand? - I think it was a dark blue and white box - put in the bowl
cold water added to dissolve the starch
Boiling water added to the starch to make it translucent
Satina (a little rectangle of a blue waxy substance) added and stirred until it was dissolved - it was supposed to make ironing easier

The things that were supposed to be stiffest went first - it was dunk and hand wring -
The solution did get "weaker" as more things were dunked

Back then, line drying was the only option.

Then - the items were sprinkled - some time was given for the item to get evenly dampened - and then the items were ironed within a day or two , or refrigerated or frozen - depending on when one would be able to get around to ironing that stuff.

The overalls went in last.

The starching did seem to help with soil release.

I helped my mother do it the same way as your Mom--but no Satina, she added bluing instead for a 'whiter than white' look. D__n but I hated ironing day. The three great inventions of the twentieth century? Electric refrigeration, the automatic washer and Permanent Press!