Saturday, June 2, 2012

hive 2 :: here's my square

Ok, I just finished sewing my square last night; I'm a little slow at having an example for you guys.
Mamafairy is right: the iron is your best friend, I even made my own starch spray to keep everything stiff. When you get the hang of it, this process goes pretty fast.
 Happy sewing!
-Laurel

3 comments:

mammafairy said...

These are going to look amazing when you have them all!
I love your explosion of colour!

cheeky monkey said...

Lovely! How did you make your own starch spray? Maybe you can post that on flickr? That would be great :)

laurel said...

this is the recipe:

If you won't go buy spray starch (or mix your own using bottled starch, like Sta-Flo), here's how you make your own:

1/4 c water
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
3 cups water

Mix the starch with the 1/4 cup water, set aside. Bring the 3 c water to a boil. Pour in the cornstarch, and stir it constantly for one minute while it simmers (it doesn't have to boil hard). Turn off the heat and let it cool, stirring every once in awhile. Put it in a bottle and spray away. Rinse the bottle with clean water between refillings.

The problem with this solution is that it spoils quickly. Instructions say to keep it 2 to 3 days max. I can't think of any effective, fabric-safe, over-the-counter preservatives off the top of my head. You can always make a half-batch if you don't need 3 cups (use 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch and 1 1/2 cups water).

You can add a bit more starch for a stiffer result (maybe one more teaspoon of starch to the 3 cup recipe), but if it's too thick, it won't spray. I found some German/Irish instructions that say to save the water from boiling potatoes, and to soak your laundry in that, let it drip almost dry, then iron while damp. How about them taters?