sewmary

Boy does that take me back to my childhood, and loving memories of my mother!!!

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Me too when sometimes there was more rolled up ironing in the refrigerator than there was food!

BellaBoo

I don't fret over the best starch anymore. I have used every starch there is from making my own, every brand of spray, to diluting washable school glue (which isn't a glue but a heavy starch), to sizing, to wrinkle reducer, to powder you boil and my findings are they all work the same to make the fabric firmer. So I use the simplest way to starch and what ever brand is on sale. Right now it's Bounce ironing spray I bought a lot of when it was a special buy. For super firm finish, I saturate the fabric with any type and let it dry, use a steam iron and have fabric that is stiff as cardboard.

quiltsRfun

I find spray starch to be more messy what with the overspray, etc. That goes for the canned as well as the kind I make myself and put into a spray bottle. You also get better coverage by dipping or brushing.

ranger

I would like to thank all those that replied.

Seems like the issue with spray bottles is the overspray and mess.
There is a good chance that some of the spray will get on surrounding areas.
The dip/paint is extra work and I am a lazy person. hehehe.
Guess I'll try the spray stuff for now.
I am so hesitant about using starch because, in our first house, we had a problem with silverfish.
I DO NOT want to have to deal with that again!
I read that silverfish are attracted to starch.

Thanks again for the info.
I can always count on this board for help.

happyquiltmom

I use Mary Ellen's Best Press. It's a starch alternative, doesn't leave a residue, so it wouldn't attract silverfish.

Kitsie

I use a squirt bottle for my liquid starch (diluted 1:1 - spray can is more expensive, can not be diluted and not great for the atmosphere) but I have an old cardboard box I call my "paintbooth" like for painting cars, put the fabric pieces in and spray into the box. Only took me 2 yrs of cleaning up starch spray to figure that out. For yardage, I dip it in diluted starch.

ranger

Happyquiltmom and Kitsie....thanks for the info.

Kitsie, the box is a great idea!

Tartan

I think it was ckcowl who suggested ironing a piece of freezer paper over your ironing surface to protect it from fusibles and starch. I thought it was a great idea.

sahm4605

if you are doing the hidden wells pattern you will have fun this is like my 5 or 6th hidden wells quilt. I am working on this pattern right now. If you can cut your own strips from starched fabric. that is what I do. I use the liquid starch also because it seems cheaper to me. I also let my starched fabric get almost completely dry. if you are using precut strips then you need to be very very careful when you starch them. using a salad spinner to "wring" them out would be a good idea and then hang dry them.

ranger

Thank you for the help.
I am using my own fabric. I plan to spray starch a few pieces of fabric and then cut into strips to see how it works.
The HW pattern looks like fun but I have such a terrible habit of starting something and then seeing something other pattern that I like. Then I'm off to try that one! No wonder I wound up with so many UFOs. I am happy to say those UFOs are now mostly FOs, so I may stick with the HW one......plus my sampler blocks. I am hand quilting the Sampler blocks and then joining blocks/sashing with the Quilt-as -you-go method. Anyway that's the plan.
Thanks again for posting.