Starch & Design Board
#1
Starch & Design Board
I'm weird, I know, I really like ironing. I iron everything (except jeans!), even T-shirts. I love that clean crisp finish and the smell of freshly pressed laundry, but I had never used starch before I began quilting and found it recommended here on the board. I quickly fell in love with the way it makes cutting more accurate and piecing less prone to distortion (especially when I'm using novelty fabrics) but I've run into a couple of problems.
1. Starched pieces will not stick to my design board so I have to pin them.
2. Fabric can get really slippery if I really heavily starch it and sometime cause my ruler to slide when I'm cutting (this, I can fix easily with grippy things on the ruler, I know, so maybe it's not so much of a problem).
3. The starch I've been using repels marking pens and pencils. Chalk works okay but still comes off quite easily.
I've been using spray startch that I buy at the grocery store, the kind sold for ordinary laundry use. If I used homemade starch mixed from cornstarch would it be better in terms of sticking to the design board and marking the pieces?
Because it is so humid in Japan for a good part of the year and mold will grow on anything vaguely organic, I've been reluctant to try mixing my own from cornstarch or potato flour. Also, I do not want to attract the abundant local bug life to my stash.
Do any of you have a recommendation for a mold-resistant, bug-repelling starch?
Thanks in advance.
1. Starched pieces will not stick to my design board so I have to pin them.
2. Fabric can get really slippery if I really heavily starch it and sometime cause my ruler to slide when I'm cutting (this, I can fix easily with grippy things on the ruler, I know, so maybe it's not so much of a problem).
3. The starch I've been using repels marking pens and pencils. Chalk works okay but still comes off quite easily.
I've been using spray startch that I buy at the grocery store, the kind sold for ordinary laundry use. If I used homemade starch mixed from cornstarch would it be better in terms of sticking to the design board and marking the pieces?
Because it is so humid in Japan for a good part of the year and mold will grow on anything vaguely organic, I've been reluctant to try mixing my own from cornstarch or potato flour. Also, I do not want to attract the abundant local bug life to my stash.
Do any of you have a recommendation for a mold-resistant, bug-repelling starch?
Thanks in advance.
#2
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Michigan
Posts: 3,334
I don't use spray starch because it's made from the stuff bugs and rodents like to eat...... I wouldn't use starch of any kind. I do use spray sizing.... that's not made of flour or corn starch...... read the label. I don't think it would solve the problem of not sticking to your design board, etc..... but perhaps you need to spray a little less. After all, the spray is supposed to give a smoother finish and that's what it's doing for you..... can't have your cake and eat it too, I guess.
#6
Power Poster
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Michigan
Posts: 11,276
I wash my fabric when I get it home, but only starch it when I'm getting ready to cut it for a project. After my project is complete, I launder the quilt. this way, I'm not storing starched items for a long time. I've never had the problems you mention, so I think that you are very heavily starching. Might want to ease up a bit. My stuff sticks to the design wall, no problem.
It's interesting. My husband is Japanese and he starches everything, because his mom starched everything. She said traditionally, they starched a lot of items because they had all the starchy water left over from rinsing rice (she always used StaFlo). There are a lot of Japanese items I can think of that are heavily starched from obi to mizuhiki. I'm wondering if there is a local product you can use...
It's interesting. My husband is Japanese and he starches everything, because his mom starched everything. She said traditionally, they starched a lot of items because they had all the starchy water left over from rinsing rice (she always used StaFlo). There are a lot of Japanese items I can think of that are heavily starched from obi to mizuhiki. I'm wondering if there is a local product you can use...
#7
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Holmen, WI
Posts: 6,459
I don't use spray starch because it's made from the stuff bugs and rodents like to eat...... I wouldn't use starch of any kind. I do use spray sizing.... that's not made of flour or corn starch...... read the label. I don't think it would solve the problem of not sticking to your design board, etc..... but perhaps you need to spray a little less. After all, the spray is supposed to give a smoother finish and that's what it's doing for you..... can't have your cake and eat it too, I guess.
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woohoowendy
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04-02-2011 02:02 AM