Month two

[Susan B.]

I'm buying more starch.

:lol: I buy it bulk buy at Costco.

[Margo C.]

I get liquid Sta-Flo starch at Wal-Mart. It's almost always either on the very bottom shelf, or so high up I have to ask for help to get it!
Never at eye level! :!: I guess starching is a lost art! :lol:

[Janet S.]

I use Sta-Flo too, Margo. How do you mix yours? I never know if I'm using too much or not enough. :?

[Janet S.]

Yes can someone suggest on mixing the starch? I've bought some sizing at Sams. Since it seems to be a lost art it was not expensive. I've also bought some sta flo and the mixing is what gets me.

[Margo C.]

I mix mine about half and half with water in a spray bottle. I cut a "chunk" of fabric a little larger than the patches I need for the project and lay it out flat on an old beach towel on the floor of my sewing room. I spray the fabric until it is saturated then let it air dry over night. When I iron it with either a hot dry iron or with steam, it presses wonderfully flat and stiff with none of the flaking you get if you iron it while it's still damp.

[Janet S.]

Wow, Margo, you're a patient lady! I have a hard time just waiting for it to soak into the fabric before I press! I have been mixing mine about the same ratio and it seems to be good.

[Margo C.]

Definitely not patient! This is prep work usually done a day or two before I plan to cut out my patches so they are all ready when sewing time comes.

Janet, do you have much flaking and sticking to the iron?

[Janet S.]

The trick seems to be to let the starch soak into the fabric. I actually have less flaking with the sta-flo mixture. I have tried just cheap cans of starch from the grocery store, and it seems like I get more flaking with those. I learned from a class with Harriet Hargrave that several light coats of starch is better than one heavy coat.

[Margo C.]

Now....THAT takes patience! :roll:

[Margo C.]

This is where it is advantageous to have more than one project on the go at once 8) , you can starch fabric, then go and play with something else while you wait :wink: .....it is either that or go and do some tidying up :evil: :lol:

[Rita C.]

Coming late to the whole starching fabric thing I will throw in my tuppence worth here. I find that if I spray the starch and then turn the fabric over and iron it I don't get any flaking from the cans of spray. I am so impatient that I can't even take the time to make up a starch spray. ops:

[Andree B.]

I once starched my fabric, and I got those flakes (a can bought at the grocery store :? ), so I abandonned it, not knowing better. But yesterday, with all the comments, I looked it up on google, and saw a video on it (Leah Day).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwrETCcgMX0
I'll go buy some sta-flo at Walmart and give it a try.

Andrée

[Andree B.]

I also find that super starched fabric is great for just running through the printer without any backing for doing Inklingo on.

[Rita C.]

That's good to know too Rosemary, thanks.

[Constance G.]

In case you haven't seen it, Diane Gaudynski has a great post about starch:
dianegaudynski.blogspot.com/2010/02/starch.html