How to properly starch a skirt?

Processing things with starch is rarely practiced today. With the advent of synthetic fabrics, the need for such a procedure has disappeared. Modern housewives prefer to master advanced gadgets, explore refrigerator temperature conditions, study healthy eating methods, etc.

But there are ladies with a classic outlook on housekeeping who continue to follow the tradition, because starched things always look elegant and impeccable. How to starch fabric to stand up?

So, how to starch a skirt or petticoat - further in our article.

Video: Stiff As A Board | How I Starch My Petticoats

What is starch for clothes for?

In the time of our grandmothers, starching was an obligatory ritual of caring for bed linen, table textiles, and men's shirts. The modern view of the process is somewhat different. Doctors do not advise starching bedding, as this reduces the breathability of the fibers.

In gourmet restaurants, tablecloths and napkins are starched. After the table clothes take on a noble look, the textiles keep their shape. For the same purpose, wedding, evening dresses, petticoats are subjected to moderate processing, after which they sit perfectly on the figure.

The benefits of the process are:

• the fabric becomes more durable, tear-resistant;
• keeps its shape well and wrinkle less;
• Stains are easier to clean because the starch dissolves in warm water, and with it the dirt goes away. As a result, things need to be washed less often;
• Starch has a slight whitening effect.

You can starch cotton curtains, furniture covers, knitted panamas, hats, but most often you need to starch skirts so that a complex cut appears in all its glory. Puffy skirts are part of the dance attire, theatrical, New Year's costumes, evening and wedding dresses.

Video: How to Stiffen Fabric with Cornstarch – TextileTuts

Preparing the fabric and starch solution

How to starch clothes at home? The thing should be washed. Starch has an adhesive effect, attracts dust. A pre-washed product after starching looks untidy.

When machine washing, make sure the drum is clean. If your clothes have lint or stains after washing, it's time to find out how to clean your washing machine. After washing, there should be no detergent residues on the clothes.

To prepare the solution, you will need ordinary potato starch from the store, a container, water, a spatula for mixing. The concentration of the solution depends on the structure of the fabric and the desired effect:

• for starching a petticoat that supports a tulle or chiffon skirt: 5 g per liter of water;
• to support a tiered skirt: 1 tbsp. l. for 700 g of water;
• for stiff tablecloths: 1 tsp. per liter of water;
• for a mesh skirt: 2 tbsp. l. for 6 glasses of liquid.

A larger volume of water from the required is boiled, starch is diluted in a smaller one until a homogeneous mixture without lumps is obtained. The mixture is carefully poured into boiling water, stirring continuously over low heat for 5 minutes. The solution should become transparent. After cooling down, it is ready for use. If there are still lumps, the mixture is filtered.

Video: How To Iron And Starch A Dress Shirt

Starching algorithm

The finished solution is poured into a container with cool water. The liquid should completely cover the skirt or other item. Next steps:

• the product is immersed in the solution for 20 minutes;
• rinsing thoroughly;
• carefully squeezed out;
• drying.

It is important to prevent overdrying, because after that the skirt will be difficult to iron. When starching a tulle skirt, only the lower tiers of the product are lowered into the solution.

Some useful tips:

• to prevent the material from sticking to the surface of the iron during ironing, a few drops of turpentine are added to the soaking mixture;
• to add shine to white things, half a teaspoon of blue is added to the starch solution;
• In damp weather, starched clothes should not be worn, as the effect will disappear;
• Luxurious wedding dresses made of airy fabrics are kept in solution for less than usual time, about 10 minutes. The solution should be carefully distributed with your hands so that it gets on all the elements.

Puffy skirts can be starched not in the basin, but on a horizontal surface, securing the edges with pins. The solution is applied with a brush. Dry the product in a vertical position. The procedure takes longer, but gives an amazing effect.

Video: Make your own spray starch | Ironing starch | Diy pressing starch

How to starch colored fabric?

Starch usually white, light-colored fabrics. Starch will leave white stains on the fabric.

How to starch a colored shirt or skirt, if you want to make things stiff? You can do this by other means:

• use sugar syrup, for 100 ml of water 200 g of sugar. The mixture is heated until sugar is dissolved, but not brought to a boil, cooled and applied to clothes or individual elements with a brush;
• silicate glue. Requires 1 tsp. for five liters of water.

Also, for starching colored items, you can use a gelatin solution, 20 g per liter of cold water. The solution is stirred, dissolved in hot water and pre-washed colored items are placed in it.

Starching in the washing machine

To save time, things can be starched in the washing machine. There is no special mode for such processing in modern machines, but washing with starch is possible.

The solution is prepared as described above. The machine must operate in the mode intended for this type of laundry. Before the last rinse, the solution is added to the conditioner compartment. The squeeze is minimal. After washing, shake the clothes to straighten out the wrinkles and dry.

There are ready-made compositions for stiffening clothes, aerosols, gels on sale. Some can be used in the washing machine.

It is not difficult to master the technique of processing things with starch. The process improves the quality and aesthetic characteristics of fabrics and clothes, improves the mood and comfort of wearing. Try it!

Video: Starching my petticoat

Hi all! In this blog we post useful information on the topic how to starch a skirt or petticoat. If you have questions or ideas that we did not cover in our article, write about it in the comments.

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