Does anyone know how to make homemade starch for fabric?

[DarleneElaine]

I think there is something that you can buy and add water to it and use a spray bottle to spray the fabrics. This liquid you purchase when mixed with water becomes starch. It is less expensive then the spray cans.

What is the name and where can you purchase it.

[PATSYG]

In my grandma's days they would use sugar and water or corn starch and water of course the bugs liked those combinations and they would use them on dollies I think that in the store you can find a powder starch that you can mix with water and that way you can make it as stiff as you want Ican't remember the name but look in the laundry section of a store and near spry starches you might find it there good luck Patsy G

[vagrandma]

Doesn't Faultless or Niagra have a liquid starch that you mix with water? I'm pretty sure they carry that at Wal-mart. The stiffness you want is determined by the amount of water that you add to the liquid starch concentrate. I know it's a lot cheaper than spray starch!!

[calicopuzzle]

Walmart carries STA-FLO liquid starch up my way in the midwest. Directions on the bottle say dilute one part starch to two parts water and put into a spray bottle. It works great. I make about a cup at a time. I like it alot better than the aerosol cans of spray starch.

[QIAD-Linda]

What an interesting idea DarleneElaine. I never thought of doing this. Thanks!

[ipquilter]

I've used the Sta-Flo. I mixed it thicker than directed, then dipped my fabric into it, wrung it out, and let it hang to dry. I ironed it while it was still slightly damp. It was VERY stiff-good when there are going to be alot of bias edges and points. I learned the hard way that hand-quilting it is difficult. I saw an HGTV show that showed how to use it for applying fabric as a wall covering. They applied it with a paint roller and smoothed the fabric over it. It looked pretty cool.
Sherry

[desertquilter]

Patsyg, I used to use a powdered starch named ARGO. Is this the name you were thinking of? I believe it is still sold in the laundry sections of most stores.
Jeanne

[CindyB]

I've been using the liquid from Wal-Mart and putting it in a spray bottle for a while now.

I really like it, as when it gets humid here during the summers, the cans can get a little rusty, and I don't like that. would also rather not use an aerosol product.

One bottle lasted me a little less than a year.

It's easy to adjust the amount of starch going into the fabric, too. I've gone as high as 1/1, but usually use about 1 pt starch to 2 or 3 parts water, and it's just stiff enough to get the bias cuts you need.

[QuiltingOnAir]

Renowned quilter, Diane Gaudynski has a very simple, non chemical recipe on her web site. It is www.dianegaudynski.net. The recipe can be found using the "Tips" link. The recipe will be at the bottom of the page. This is especially good for those of us who have allergies or who just prefer to use less chemicals.