Update - Spray Starch

  In April of this year I posted about home made spray starch.  I am pleased to report that it works quite well.  There isn't any sticking or flaking, but I must admit that I usually am ironing with steam.  I find that I get a better result with steam, and ironing lines in just always come out just the way I want them.  By lines I mean what people used to do down the front of their slacks (I don't iron seams / lines down the front of my pants- they never even see an iron!)  

  The one drawback is that with all this HOT weather the nation seems to be having the starch may begin to smell a bit unpleasant and you do not want to iron in bad odors to something beautiful that you are making - so smell the starch first.  And yes I did add some borax to the solution to preserve it.  So now the starch is kept in the refrigerator with a nice label on it "STARCH".  It also washes out quite nicely without damage to your machine.  

  So give it a try - I'll bet that you have some corn starch in the kitchen cupboard - add some cold water to dissolve the corn starch - bring to a boil while stirring constantly to avoid lumps - allow to cool before funneling into a spray bottle.  You can use it  immediately, store any unused portion in the fridge and make sure that you label it.

  *Note you don't need much corn starch in the water - opt for less rather than more. A half teaspoon to a pint of water is a good start.  If you find that you require a heavier starching add only a quarter teaspoon more mixed with a tiny bit of water to the main solution.  Add the borax to a small bit of water - then mix into the boiled starch.

I hope that this was helpful, it certainly is economic.  . 

Something New

  Today I am trying something new - home made spray starch.  "Why?" you ask.  Mostly because I am too lazy to go out to buy some and partly because I don't want to spend the money.  So yes, lazy and cheap.  I have found that I am not the only one making my own spray starch though, as there are recipes that are around to make it.  I'll let you know how I make out in a little while....

and actually,  next week is sewing week for me I can't wait and am preparing this week so that all the projects are set up and ready to go under the needle!  Having this starch is just part of the preparation process.

I made maybe too much of it (I think) as I put 3 teaspoons in cold water to dissolve and then heated it, adding more water to make it thinner as  needed - during the week I will be using it on fabric