How to properly starch the collar and cuffs of a shirt?
Knowing how to starch a shirt, you can give an ordinary product an unusually solemn look. Just a few years ago, this approach to processing men’s and women’s shirts was used everywhere, even in everyday life. Today, the direction is undeservedly ignored by many housewives.
Most often they explain this by a lack of free time, but, as practice shows, additional manipulations only take a few minutes. Others simply don't understand the beauty of the approach.
In addition to the touch of festivity, starching shirts is considered beneficial from the practical side of the issue:
- If products intended for regular wear are constantly starched at home, you can count on a reduction in their wear rate. The texture of the fibers becomes denser, and they deteriorate more slowly.
- Treated items retain their neat appearance longer and do not wrinkle so quickly.
- During the starching process, an additional layer is formed on the surface of the fabric, which after ironing becomes denser and provides the fabric with additional whiteness.
- The starch layer is also a protective barrier that prevents rapid contamination of the garment. Under the influence of water, this film dissolves and allows you to wash the fabric without any problems.
Tip: Few people know that you can starch a shirt only from natural fabric.Synthetics do not have that unique porous texture that can pass the solution between the fibers and fix it there.
Despite the abundance of advantages, starching has one significant disadvantage - after such processing, the products no longer allow air to pass through. Therefore, it is not recommended to wear starched shirts all the time.
Rules for preparing the composition and important nuances of the process
One of the most critical stages of work is the preparation of the active composition; the degree of tissue fixation and the final appearance of the product will depend on its quality.
In this case, it is necessary to rely not only on the desired level of rigidity, but also on the quality of the material:
- The soft way. It is used for processing chiffon and cambric. To do this, dissolve a teaspoon of starch in a small amount of water, then add a liter of boiling water to the mass and cook it over low heat for no more than three minutes. The end result should be a transparent and homogeneous product.
- Semi-hard way. Ideal for cotton. It differs from the previous approach only in the amount of starch. We take it in the amount of a tablespoon.
- The hard way. Used for starching cuffs and collars. First, grind two tablespoons of starch with cold water to a paste. Then dissolve a teaspoon of salt in a glass of boiling water and mix with starch gruel. Cook the resulting mass for a couple of minutes and leave for at least an hour.
After preparing the composition, we begin processing the washed product or its individual parts.
Manipulation technology and secrets from experienced housewives
The starching procedure itself is quite simple, but to obtain an optimal result it is worth considering several important points:
- If the product needs to be completely processed, then immerse it in the prepared composition for half an hour. Partial processing does not require long soaking; we simply thoroughly wet individual areas.
- Before, how to starch things, including the collar, it is recommended to wipe the product with hydrogen peroxide. This will get rid of yellow stains and prevent their rapid appearance.
- After the required time, we take out the item and hang it up, carefully straightening out all the folds and creases.
- We dry the item of clothing naturally, sprinkling it with water from a spray bottle as it dries.
- When the shirt is only slightly damp, iron it, paying special attention to the cuffs and collar.
- Drying fabric treated with starch on a balcony or radiator is not recommended; this can lead to overdrying of the material and the formation of strong creases.
- If the product needs to be given a solemn shine, then a little salt or melted stearin should be added to the working composition.
- Today you can even starch shirts in a washing machine. To do this, you just need to pour the starch into the conditioner tray. Other means are not used in the same cycle.
Such an economical procedure as starching shirts allows you to achieve an effect that even dry cleaning employees cannot guarantee. In this case, no negative consequences for the tissue are observed.