Wow! This was “sew” helpful to me, a new quilter! I wish I had known this when I made my first quilt. I’m almost finished with the quilt top on my second quilt and I used the Faultless Spray starch. What a game changer! My blocks had less fraying and they matched up nicely. The only thing I should have done was to starch the fabric BEFORE I cut out the pieces! Oh well, live and learn! Thank you for making this informative video. 😊
Lots of helpful information. Have you ever used the Sta Flo/Water solution to rinse your fabrics in? Hang over a drying rack to dry & once the fabric is completely dry you then iron it & it comes out nice & crisp with no white flakes. You can also control the amount of starch depending on the ratio of starch/water you mix up. First dip & lightly wring lighter fabrics to darker fabrics.
A well done comparison. I personally use the Faultless Heavy Finish, I saturate and air dry, I achieve a great crisp finish with almost no fraying and easily controlled fabric. I'm going to try the dryer when I have some yardage to do.
Thanks friend! I'm a big fan of Faultless as well! Let us know if you notice a difference between popping your starched fabric in the dryer and just letting the fabric air-dry!
Lots of Information. I happen to put a sheet on the floor ironing board on atop, in the bathroom. I put curtain tension rods up in the bathtub/shower. Then spray starch, soaking the fabric hanging it up to drop dry
Cora, I am having to press seams open which I seldom do & they're being stubborn (not even close to flat). So you think it's safe to use Flatter (w/iron) on those open seams prior to quilt assembly? I did not apply any starch or Best Press on the fabric. Thanks, Cindy
Hi, if I need to mix prewashed fabrics & unwashed fabrics, do you think if I starch the unwashed fabric, will it shrink them enough that I can mix them with my prewashed fabrics & not have it ruin my quilt when I wash it when it is finished? P.S. I think Faultless bought Niagara and have merged into one company. Thanks for sharing.
Hi there - it's impossible to say! It is my personal preference to pre-treat all of my fabric in the same manner before quilting, so I would not be comfortable using a mix of pre-washed and unwashed fabric because the shrinkage would not be uniform after your first wash.
The purpose of starching your fabric is to add stability to your fabric as you sew ... which leads to more accurately pieced quilt blocks. Once you've finished sewing, then starch has served its purpose ... so it doesn't matter that it washed out.
It usually does to varying degrees (depending on a number of factors like the brand used, how much you saturate the fabric, how high your iron is, etc). That's why we recommend starching before cutting and treating all fabric in a quilt top in the same manner!
Wow! This was “sew” helpful to me, a new quilter! I wish I had known this when I made my first quilt. I’m almost finished with the quilt top on my second quilt and I used the Faultless Spray starch. What a game changer! My blocks had less fraying and they matched up nicely. The only thing I should have done was to starch the fabric BEFORE I cut out the pieces! Oh well, live and learn! Thank you for making this informative video. 😊
This is excellent news - so glad to hear it's helped with your practice!
Your review on starches was fabulous. Thank you for explaining and demonstrating all the different brands!
You are so welcome!
Lots of helpful information. Have you ever used the Sta Flo/Water solution to rinse your fabrics in? Hang over a drying rack to dry & once the fabric is completely dry you then iron it & it comes out nice & crisp with no white flakes. You can also control the amount of starch depending on the ratio of starch/water you mix up. First dip & lightly wring lighter fabrics to darker fabrics.
Thanks D. - I love using it, if the weather in Northern California is amenable to drying outside ... which is not frequently the case. :)
A well done comparison. I personally use the Faultless Heavy Finish, I saturate and air dry, I achieve a great crisp finish with almost no fraying and easily controlled fabric. I'm going to try the dryer when I have some yardage to do.
Thanks friend! I'm a big fan of Faultless as well! Let us know if you notice a difference between popping your starched fabric in the dryer and just letting the fabric air-dry!
That's what I use also
Lots of Information. I happen to put a sheet on the floor ironing board on atop, in the bathroom. I put curtain tension rods up in the bathtub/shower. Then spray starch, soaking the fabric hanging it up to drop dry
Great tip!
Cora, I am having to press seams open which I seldom do & they're being stubborn (not even close to flat). So you think it's safe to use Flatter (w/iron) on those open seams prior to quilt assembly? I did not apply any starch or Best Press on the fabric. Thanks, Cindy
Hi Cindy - in my experience, it is safe ... HOWEVER ... I would experiment with scrap fabric first to see if you're happy with the result. ☺️
Hi, if I need to mix prewashed fabrics & unwashed fabrics, do you think if I starch the unwashed fabric, will it shrink them enough that I can mix them with my prewashed fabrics & not have it ruin my quilt when I wash it when it is finished? P.S. I think Faultless bought Niagara and have merged into one company. Thanks for sharing.
Hi there - it's impossible to say! It is my personal preference to pre-treat all of my fabric in the same manner before quilting, so I would not be comfortable using a mix of pre-washed and unwashed fabric because the shrinkage would not be uniform after your first wash.
If you use starch, does it not come out when you wash your quilt?
The purpose of starching your fabric is to add stability to your fabric as you sew ... which leads to more accurately pieced quilt blocks. Once you've finished sewing, then starch has served its purpose ... so it doesn't matter that it washed out.
Does using starch shrink your fabric?
It usually does to varying degrees (depending on a number of factors like the brand used, how much you saturate the fabric, how high your iron is, etc). That's why we recommend starching before cutting and treating all fabric in a quilt top in the same manner!
Spray on wrong side, turn over and press…..with water in iron or not?
This is a matter of personal preference - we prefer to do all of our pressing with a dry iron. Moisture can be added with a spray bottle, if needed.