marty_mo

Do you use starch or a press prep? Do you prefer can starch, liquid concentrated or Mary Ellen's Best Press or something else?

I've tried the can and Mary Ellen's but I am currently using Sta-Flo (mixed 50/50) and like the results.

tlrnhi

I just use good ole Niagra Spray starch if I use any.

lyndawn

Niagara is my fav. I used stay flo but it really gummed up my iron and I didn't like that.

Lynette

Moonpi

I use Niagra for starch. For sizing, I like the linen water they sell in the dollar tree stores.

Joan

I use sizing and have gotten quite "addicted" to it.

It makes ironing and getting fabric ready to cut
so much easier--to me anyway.....

AtHomeSewing

I Love Mary Ellen's Best Press. Sorry you can't find it to give it a try, I've only found it at Quilt Shops, or the internet.

It doesn't flake like starch, and it works very well.

BellaBoo

I make my own best press. 8)

Dissolve half a teaspoon (or for a more substantial recipe, 1 teaspoon) of cornstarch (in your cupboard probably) in a few tablespoons of cold water in a heat proof 2-cup measuring pitcher like Pyrex. Add boiling water to make one cup, stirring constantly. Then add cold water to the 2 cup line. Let cool and use in a pump spray bottle. Shake it every time you spray. You may have to dilute it a little if it is too thick or builds up white flakes. Lasts a week or so as there are no preservatives, no chemicals, no nothing that harms us or the environment, and it’s practically free, except for the spray bottle!

HMK

Mary Ellen's Best Press - great stuff.

Skeat

Okay-duh! What is 'sizing'??I didn't know they sold linen water in the dollar stores....smell good too??Educate me moonpi!:)I'm from the country and the only 'sizing' besides buying britches would be when the ladies made doilies they made a sugar water to set their doilies when done to hold a stiff shape. Skeat

*Great post Marty-Mo!! I so want to know this question too...I liked the smell of the Mary Ellen's..but, after they raised the prices around here to over $10 for a 16oz....I've opted out of using that! Just greedy! And, I am not biting the bug on that one!

Moonpi

Yes, I've had the honeysuckle, rose, and lavender. The name on the pump bottle is "l'essence de Provence" and the pump bottle label is white, trimmed in a color suited to the fragrance. It leaves a light crispness, and at a buck for 16 oz, it's affordable. Depending on who is stocking the store, it is either with candles, soaps, or around the clothespins.