In a 4 cup glass measuring cup, add:

1 tsp ordinary cooking cornstarch (NOT Sta Flo laundry starch)
(You can add a bit more or less, but if you get white flakes while ironing, you have added too much!)
1 c boiling water
Stir well til the mixture is translucent.
Add another 2 c cool water.
Stir well again.
Put into fine mist sprayer bottle.
Shake well before each use.
Use within 1 week or it will develop mold.
She says that this starch re-activates with a mist of water, so once your fabric is starched at the beginning of the project, you don't need to use more starch during construction - just mist with water.
She especially recommends starching logs for log cabin blocks, borders and quilt backings.

Vodka...well, generally made from potatoes ? And there is chocolate vodka...think it'd work best in a glass ! hic !

suehenyon wrote: Anything that helps me to iron for long periods of time gets my vote . Does it come with chocolate?

I have powder starch and the instructions on my tub for about a tbsp of powder is first mix in 1-2 tbsps of cold water, then add about 1/2 pint of boiling water, mix well then top up to 1 pint with cold. You need the boiling water to cook the starch and it will go mouldy - I left mine too long and it smelt yuck when ironed. Alternatively I believe that you could use rice water.

I suppose you could use a couple of drops of teatree oil in it for preserative - if you like the smell.

DixieH wrote:

Vodka has starch. You can make the spray with just vodka and water.
It presses really well, but I like a little more stiffness so I add a little liquid starch. You can also add several drops of essential oil and it will smell great.

Erica

AndreeBergeron wrote:
I haven't used corn starch powder but hey it's worth a try. Try it out on a scrap of fabric and see if it works!
Erica

Oh ! This is such a good start to the day !!

Margo wrote:

I had been thinking that with enough Vodka I wouldn't notice the wrinkles in the fabric much - or in my face either.

Sounds like some of my memories of washing and starching and ironing. Don't remember the corn starch part. You all are so helpful to everyone. Love the quilt show......

suehenyon wrote:

idaho wrote:
Me too Marilyn! In fact I still have Mother's "sprinkler"! The rubber on the cap is all dried out and doesn't stay in the bottle well enough to use it now, but it is a real treasure for me and stays with my ironing supplies. We also kept rolled up starched clothes in the 'fridge. Hanging clothes on the line on cold winter days was the worst!
I have a brother who is 14 years younger than I am, and hanging his diapers in the winter is something that I'll never forget!

RicaWil wrote: Thank you Erica. My problem is that I can't find "liquid starch". I have "corn starch powder" (Benson's brand), can I mix this with water (until I buy a huge bottle in the USA)?
Andrée

I have finished my Month 2 and took out the papers on the triangle units. I made sure they were left alone(not touched too much) and just before I attached them to the stripped units I pressed and starched with best press - both units.

When piecing the stripped section I made the mistake of not pressing as I went so I had a big job to do once I was done with the first small unit. For all the next units I pressed each seam open as I went and it worked much better. Having said that I was still 1/4 in short so I went back to the pressing station and carefully pressed again.

I marked the center of each strip on the units and then pinned the triangle section at the intersection so the points would be centered. This after I had ripped out a large unit because it didn't quite look right. The more units, the more likely they will shift a bit and look off when done.

I am very happy with the results which means, measure carefully, press carefully and mark & pin carefully to achieve success. This quilt is not a quick project. It's a way to hone our skills and figure out what works best for you. All these things we can use in the future and teach others along the way.

Happy Quilting.

denise

It enables you to iron for long periods of time other than that, it acts as a preservative.

What is the vodka supposed to do?