I spray starch my fabric and then give the fabric a really good pressing before I cut into it. I don’t soak my fabric to the point of having to dry it overnight and I don’t use any steam in my quilting iron. I use a mister to spray any blocks with water after they have been sewn together and I usually press my seams open and the blocks come out really flat and beautifully pieced together. Great video! ❤

I spray at the board. Remember when we pre-washed and ironed? That is when I started to starch. Love the crispy paper I’m hooked also.

I also pre-starch and it's a game changer! I use the method from Tiny Orchard Quilts on KZfaq because I couldn't stand the thought of adding all those starch cans to the landfill.

I have just started to prestarch my fabric. I have watched Kimberly Jolly from Fat Quarter Shop, and she prestarches her fabric and her work is fantastic. I am happy with my decision to prestarch and have better results. I enjoyed your video. I just subscribed to your channel, but I have been watching for a while now. Thank you for your time and suggestions 😊.

I feel the same that you do about how much better my quilts are working out after decades of quilting. I have a kinda unique way of processing the fabrics that works great for precuts. I Sew Much Love your channel. Take care.

When I first started quilting,I did not starch. However, I do now except if I am using a precut. Every point you mentioned is why I do starch. My cutting and piecing are more accurate and I am turning out better blocks and quilts. It especially helps in bias pieces to keep from stretching them out of shape. Many thanks for your videos!

I pre starch but I did not know all the benefits to it that you pointed out. Thank you for enlightening me!

I love heavy starch.

I have used starch in the past I mix mine half and half then use spray bottle. Mostly I did after sewing block together and before squaring up but love this video and have to say going to try. I rarely press seams open but lately with the smaller pieces and light colors both are good ideas as to why I need to be more diligent. Your visual with the iron and pressing is perfect as it shows us the result. Sometimes just saying it doesn’t process as well😢. Kimberly Jolly says starching the jelly rolls works as it shrinks length not width. Love this video

I use spray starch to prep my fabric. Terial magic is what I have been using.

Thanks for the starching tips and tricks. I only used best press on sewn seams and completed blocks.

I'm a believer of best press for preparing my precuts as well and even though the squares loose that near 1/4 inch, I have found they're easier to square up. As we are aware, all 5 and 10 inch squares are not created equal, if you will only use 9.5 inches anyway then starch and press is the way to get better results. I do every 2.5 inch strips they're going to shrink about 1/2 inch , and piecing with those darn pinked edges , well I do find the strips are easy to cut them away if necessary.

Great explanation of your experience!! 😊 I don't pre-starch, but I agree with your explanations of benefits 100%. I'm just lazy, so just use Best Press or spray starch as needed. I almost never prewash my fabric, just test for bleed and get to cuttin' 😂. I depend on the manufacturer's sizing to give fabric the stability needed for cutting. And good fabric doesn't fray that much, in my experience. I guess I've been lucky that after piecing, quilting and washing my quilt "points" continued to be "on point" 😂 Thanks for sharing, love your videos! 👍🏼

Just re-started starching! I enjoy the stability of working with my fabrics! Thank you!

I used Best Press on all the fabrics on my last quilt (the 2021 Liberty Box) and could really tell the difference. I will use it on all of my fabrics from now on.

I've begun to starch as well. Better accuracy, less stretching of bias and less fraying are my main reasons. I pre-starch Outdoors on a cloth covered table to better protect my lungs. I will then drape the fabric over plastic hangers then bring indoors and hang in the shower - turn the fan on and close the door.

Was not a starcher but after the last quilt I made I will definitely do it. Thanks for another great video.

I’ve only pre-starched a couple of times. The first time was on a hunter’s star quilt for my husband and I made the mistake of starching AFTER I had already trimmed down my fat quarters so I used my math skills to figure out smaller measurements for the blocks and it all turned out alright. I still need to starch background fabric for my son’s quilt that I’m going to be making soon. I only starch when a pattern recommends it because of bias cuts or tiny piecing. I think for me it just takes too long and I don’t have the room to have all of my fabric laid out to starch it. I do see the benefits of it though.

I am a big believer in starching my fabric. I also starch my precuts and adjust the pattern if need be. I know I will loose anywhere between a 1/4 to 1/2 inch in one direction. I just like how my blocks piece and press when they are starched. I order 12 cans at a time from Walmart!! Love the quilt behind you. I think you won the challenge !! Kimberly Jolly got me to become a starcher and also to press my seams open. It really does make the seams lay flatter.

I was using 1/4 Stay Flo to 3/4 water. However I was having a problem with gunk on my iron. So I started just using water but not happy with piecing or pressing. I had used canned light weight and heavy spray prior with same result of messy iron. Recently I bought Niagara sizing, worked great, no iron gunk. However, I'm not sure if it pre shrinks or any of the other effects. I will have to see. But it DOES improve my piecing. Great video.

I pre starch too

I have not starched but I’m going to give it a try

I’m a new quilter but have been sewing garments and home Dec for decades. As a garment sewer you ALWAYS pre-wash any fabric that can shrink. That’s just the way my grandmother who was a dressmakers taught me. Fast forward 40+ years and I’ve learned to quilt. The first one I made, I automatically pre-washed my fabric. It was not coming out well. I decided to start over but I fully starch my fabric and voilé! Perfection. One very important thing you should know, because starch is either made with wheat, or some kind of a green. It can indeed draw bugs, so only starch fabric that you’re going to use it right away, do not store it starched. 😊. PS I love your quilt in the background. Is a pattern available?

I’ve not starched before but I am a fan of best press. When I was a kid my grandmother used to starch my jeans in a pot on the stove top. They were really uncomfortable to wear and that put me off starch. My mom always used spray starch but it flaked and I never liked that either. Now that I know from quilting what not to do, I think I’ll revisit starching for quilting because I have the same problems you did before starching. Thank you for this video Michelle! 🤗

I've just recently started to use Best Press as I was having the difficulties you mention- inaccuracy, unmatched points etc. It saved me when making very small pinwheel blocks and now I am using it on 2 other projects that I was about to give up on. I didn't like the stains it made on my ironing board cover and just recently got a new one. I think I'll best press or starch the fabric, then cut, the use my wool mat for pressing seams as I am used to using starch and see now that steam could have been affecting my blocks also. Thank you for this!

I prewash my fabric, press with steam, and then at the time I’m making something, Best Press only the area of fabric I will be cutting my pieces from. It’s important to let the Best Press have the time to soak into the fabric. I press when the fabric is still a little damp. If the fabric isn’t stiff enough after you have pressed it with a dry iron, you can spray the other side with more Best Press and repeat the procedure. If the Best Press is too wet, the iron will stick to the fabric. Looking forward to your next video about your starching experiments.

You may have just convinced me to try starch!

Thankyou for great info. I had no idea fabric would shrink so much. I use best press now and again. Maybe this is just me but the best press evaporated in the bottle with the spray attachment, after I use my best press I now replace the spray lid with the original solid screw top lid. I live in Scotland so it's a temperate climate. Another mystery I guess.

I don’t starch because I don’t have the space or ventilated area to do do, and my son is prone to skin issues. I just use a water in a spray bottle and a hot iron. I’ve started using Elmer's glue and a precision tip (I like the ones from Pen and Paper Designs) to "pin" my seams, and that has helped my piecing a lot. I also use a clapper when I press my seams open. It gets them super flat. I’m used to pressing open because I’ve made a few Elizabeth Hartman patterns.

I always starch. I get the BEST results

I use starch on some of my projects. I put some liquid starch in a spray bottle, add water, and mist lightly.

I pre starch all my fabric except precuts.makes for more accurate cutting

I use quilter's moonshine in my daily sewing, and if I'm working with bias edges I hit it with the Niagara. But one lightbulb you switched on for me is why my blocks end up too small after piecing - I'm shrinking the components each time I spray and press! I'm about to start a quilt to enter into the fair and I've dunked and line-dried the fabrics before cutting. Thanks to you, I'm looking forward to smooth sailing!

I think you are being too hard on yourself. Your work has always been meticulous, starch or no starch. However, I understand the desire to improve. I have not used starch a lot but your breakdown of all the reasons may be a game changer for me. Thank you for sharing with the quilting community.

I never have used starch. I also use a dry iron. I keep a sprits bottle of water near if needed. I personally don't have an issue with pressing open when needed. But, it does take longer to make it a nice press on front and back. I don't have a wool pressing bar. But, I want one. I am certain that a wool pressing bar would be so helpful when pressing open seams.

Very interesting. I use Best Press only but i am thinking about trying starch since your video. What brand do you use? I would be interested to see your starching technique. Thanks AGAIN.

I’ve been starching for almost 3 years. I use stay flo. The main reason I do, is I do a lot of small-tiny piecing. Starching helps fraying also. I starch small pieces as I need. My backgrounds I’ll starch yards at a time. I just let everything air dry.

I have heared many speaches on the value of starching fabrics, but you are the first to actually make me want to try it. Also, I use a seam pressing bar to press open. It allows me to press very flat. They are not expensive and well worth it. I would get a long one so you can work with larger blocks as well as smaller pieces.

So are you saying that there is a significant difference between using best press and regular starch?

Michelle, your quilt is beautiful! I have found in addition to all of the benefits of starching you listed, there is very little lint from the fabric in my machine when I have used starch. Now do you dip starch or use a spray starch (I’m sorry….I don’t remember if you mentioned it)? And if you’ve done both, which do you prefer? I have dip starched yardage using a 1:1 ratio of StaFlo and water, and also put StaFlo and distilled water into a misting bottle to spray fabric before cutting. I used to use Best Press but it was expensive and I wanted my fabric stiffer. And even though it takes longer, I prefer dip starching the fabric as I think it absorbs into the fabric better. I’ve never tried the canned starch but might have to give it a try.

I have a tremor and I find it impossible to press seams open. It’s just too frustrating and I lack the patience and tenacity to struggle with it. I’ve rejected pre-starching because of the mess and I don’t have a drying space. Where did you dry? Did you use spray starch and dry on racks like FQS Kimberly Jolly does? I’m considering pre-starching the M&S fabric I’m making a quilt for myself with. I’m getting close to starting that quilt and since it’s going to be a medallion quilt, I could do it in batches-starch a “round” at a time, maybe. Okay, my response is I’m considering it. Thanks for this video, Michelle. It’s thought-provoking! 😀

The best press stains my white fabric yellow.I use spray starch

I think this is another example of find what works for you. I don't starch, but I also don't have the issues with accuracy, concerns about flatness, etc. that you do. And this is my hobby. I'm not trying to make a living from quilting so I don't need perfect show quality to earn the big prizes or to parlay perfection into a teaching gig. I only press open when necessary - like when 8 points meet... But I've also seen where machine quilting has hit the stitches where the seams are pressed open and popped them leaving a hole. I would rather not have that happen on my quilts.

Hi Michelle, I have never pre-starched my fabric. Your video has convinced me that I should. What brand of starch do you recommend ?

I almost always heavily starch. I suspect starch was the source of a couple of problems I experienced though. One incident was when I wasn’t able to completely remove Crayola washable marker from starched fabric , even though it has always been easy to remove from unstarched fabric. The second problem involves color running. When I submerge fabric in liquid starch, the color seems more likely to run than it does in water. I also had an incident where I dropped a little water on a newly completed quilt and the color ran horribly. I tested some of the same fabric I hadn’t starched and it didn’t run at all. In all fairness, I did use washable glue to layer the quilt and that also could have possibly caused the color to run.

I haven't starched because I was worried about the smell. Do you give your gift quilts away as is when finished or wash first? I don't generally wash my quilts because I like the crisp look of them. I did sort of spray starch one quilt I'm currently working on meaning sprayed each fat quarter, let it sit for a minute, then ironed, but I don't think that was the totally saturating spray starching people are talking about. I would like to try the Stayflo starch, but I know I'll never do the starching from a spray can to the point of saturation. Too time consuming and concerning about all that spray in the air. You have convinced me to try. I just found your channel, and I love it. Very scientific. I'm going to search your videos to see if you have one showing how you starch as in percentage Stayflo to water, etc. Thank you very much.

I use spray starch - tried Bes Press and hated it! I have a gallon container of it I need to give to someone else. Sta-Flo half and half with water in a spray container works well. It’s just too wet for my liking - so I’ll stick with spray cans!

I WASH N SPFAY MY CZ RIC WITH SI,EN N L FEALLY LIKE HOW IT GRRNS OUT

No but will

I Reventon made a quilt that said press open... what a pain lol but maybe if i had starched...

Hello Michelle. I liked all your thoughts on the pre starch. I have never pre-starched mine but I may have to pick one quilt I can start and try it. Do you spray it and let it dry or does it make a difference if you iron it dry? Your quilt is beautiful. If you pre-starch does that mean if you use water or steam while you make your units does it shrink more? Thanks for your advise. Hugs

I starch too.

Maybe I missed it but do you spray all the fabric and let it dry and then iron? The lady from the fat quarter shop really starches her fabric and hangs it to dry. Do you find starch woeks better or the same as best press? I wash all my fabric to shrink it and get the manufacturers sizing and potential dye out. I havent routinely starched everything. I do use best press if it is a flimsy fabric. I think I will try starching my fabric. I think I would be a sprayer over a soaker of starch. You have almost convinced this lazy quilter to starch. And you have raised many questions in my mind. There is the sizing vs starch option too! Sorry for the long post. I am an info junkie.

Thanks for this! Best Press doesn’t shrink fabric at all?

So HOW do YOU starch? Do you really do the tub method?

Wow, this is super helpful! 🌟 I had no idea there were so many benefits to pre-starching fabric. We sent you an email, we would love to connect and collaborate with you.

I’ve debated, particularly with small piecing. I’m going to try it now. I will be starting a project, so perfect opportunity to put it to the test. Does anyone know if it effects colors bleeding. Can you still use color catchers for the wash?

I wash and starch all my fabric before it goes into my stash

Do I have a video on how to pre starch the whole piece of fabric And what you use?

What kind of iron do you use Michelle?

How do you starch? Products?