How to properly and efficiently starch a crocheted item?

Hand-knitted clothing and household items require special care and processing to constantly maintain their attractiveness. If you know how to starch a knitted product, you can count on the fact that it will be protected from external influences for a long time and will be able to please others.

The fashion for starching crocheted items, be it a tablecloth, napkin, collar or original souvenir, returned a few years ago. Today, such an approach to processing items of clothing and decor is no longer considered old-fashioned; on the contrary, it reveals a skillful and experienced housewife.

The basics of starching things that every housewife should remember

Contrary to popular belief, not all things can be starched. Specific processing is unacceptable when caring for items made of synthetic fabrics, black threads and underwear. In the latter case, this is prohibited due to the fact that such material does not allow air to pass through, and this negatively affects the condition of the skin.

There are three degrees of hardness of starched items, which traditionally differ in the degree of density achieved depending on the ratio of starch to the volume of liquid used. Despite this, the above indicators can be achieved using other available means, only the methods will be different.

1. Soft starching. Take a tablespoon of starch per liter of water.Such processing allows you to give a clearer shape to blouses, shirts, dresses, and handkerchiefs.
2. Medium starch. For a liter of water, take one and a half tablespoons of starch. This density is considered optimal for tablecloths and tulle, crocheted, and bed linen.
3. Hard starching. Take two tablespoons of starch per liter of water. The collar and cuffs of a man's shirt are treated with this solution; it can also be used to shape napkins for table setting and decorative items.

Advice: It is better for novice housewives to start a new unusual manipulation gradually. Even the given dosages are very arbitrary and their fluctuations depend on the quality of the material. Everyone chooses for themselves how to starch a napkin or any other crocheted item, depending on the degree of rigidity, adjusting the density of the active product.

Products that are used at home for manipulation

At home, it is common to use the following ingredients to prepare starch composition:

• Starch. A traditional product, which is first diluted with a small amount of cool water, then introduced into boiling water in a thin stream, stirring constantly. The result should be a transparent composition, which is cooled and used to soak the product. Next, the item needs to be slightly squeezed and given the desired shape, if necessary, securing the result with a hot iron. If you need to starch a snow-white collar, then it is better to take rice starch, and milk is more suitable for diluting it.

• Sugar. For two glasses of sugar, take a glass of water, mix the ingredients and prepare syrup from them over low heat.Soak the product in the resulting mixture, squeeze it out, and if necessary, treat dry areas with a brush. We spread the wrung-out item on a towel, straighten it with a crochet hook, and fasten it with pins, fixing the desired shape. After the product has dried, we evaluate the achieved degree of hardness and, if desired, repeat the procedure.
• PVA glue. We dilute the main ingredient with cold water once or twice, depending on the required hardness. We either immerse the item completely in the resulting composition (if you need to starch a snowflake, a removable knitted collar, or a napkin), or spray it with a spray bottle. This approach is most often used for processing small elements, hats, and parts of carnival costumes.
• Low fat milk. Ideal for light and airy items that do not require pronounced rigidity. The product is usually used in its pure form, but the addition of a small amount of starch is also allowed.
• Gelatin. A high-quality replacement for starch, which, unlike traditional powder, does not crumble and perfectly retains the shape of the product until washing. To process crocheted items, you need to take a bag of edible gelatin, a tablespoon of fine salt and dilute them in half a glass of water. The resulting composition is placed in a large container in a water bath and stirred until the ingredients are completely dissolved. We put things into the solution only after it has cooled completely, then we proceed according to the standard scheme.

To ensure that starching of crocheted items, bed linen, souvenirs and other products does not cause problems, you need to remember a number of important points:

1. If water gets on the collar or smoothed napkin, the procedure will have to be carried out from the very beginning.
2. You can iron the finished product only after it has completely dried, otherwise it will turn yellow very quickly, and it will be impossible to wash off the unpleasant shade.
3. Linen to be starched should not be kept in a place with high humidity, as this may cause mold to form on the fabric.
4. It is recommended to starch things with sugar in the cool season. In summer they will attract the attention of insects.
5. If the crocheted item, hat or collar was literally standing, then even before drying begins, it must be placed on a frame of suitable shape.

You also need to properly care for a starched item. If, for example, during processing the fringe on the tablecloth sticks together, you need to hold it over the steam for several minutes and carefully straighten it with your fingers. If a starched product sticks to the sole of the iron, then next time it is better to prepare the solution not with water, but with low-fat milk.