Save Money and Make Your Own Pressing Spray
It’s Quick, Easy and Works Great!
Pressing sprays, such as spray starch and sizing, make cutting and piecing so much easier. That’s especially true if you pre-wash your fabrics or have pieces that require sewing on the bias. These sprays also help to remove stubborn wrinkles and creases that a hot iron and steam won’t eliminate.
Brands such as Mary Ellen’s Best Press are very popular with quilters. However, they can get pricey, especially if you’re working on a large quilt or have a lot of fabric to iron smooth.
Fortunately, you can make your own effective spray relatively inexpensively. It’s very simple to do. All you need is a spray bottle, distilled water, cheap vodka, and liquid starch. You may also want to add a drop of an essential oil, like lavender, for fragrance.
New Quilters has an easy recipe, and they provide a label to print and apply to your spray bottle (sticky labels work great). Nice!
A second recipe, from Laren Lang, uses cornstarch instead of liquid starch. This all-natural formula can scorch, so be careful while using it. Plus, it needs to be stored in the fridge.
