Over time, shirts lose their appearance. A starched shirt looks presentable. Wearing such a shirt, a man looks irresistible. Even though this process was used in the good old days, you need to know the recipes. This will turn an old product into a new one.
Why do shirts starch?
Shirts are starched in order to preserve the appearance and give newness to a worn item. The collar and cuffs quickly fail. They are starched separately. Advantages of the procedure:- the substance, penetrating into the material, makes the shirt more durable;
- the presence of starch on the surface of the shirt will help avoid unnecessary contamination;
- at the end of the process, the shirt does not wrinkle for a long time;
- by ironing the product, the starched item receives additional whiteness;
- If you periodically carry out this procedure, the shirt will not wear out and will serve its owner for a long time.
The material of starched shirts does not allow air to pass through well. Wear these items on special occasions.
How to prepare the solution
Not every thing can be starched. We apply the procedure only for shirts made of natural material. Synthetics have a special structure; it cannot be starched.Before starting the process, we examine the fabric of the shirt. You can starch things three methods.
The soft way
Used for products made of chiffon and cambric. Dissolve 1 tsp. starch in a small amount of cold water until a homogeneous mass without lumps is obtained. Boil water separately - about 1 liter. Add starch to boiling liquid. Stirring constantly, cook for three minutes. A properly prepared solution looks clear and homogeneous.
Medium or semi-hard method
Suitable for cotton. The paste is prepared by analogy with the first method. Only you need more starch - 1 tbsp. l.
The hard way
It will help starch the cuffs and collar. Mix 2 tbsp. l. starch with 1 tbsp. l. spoon of water until smooth. Dissolve 15 grams of salt in a glass of boiled water. Combine the solutions and cook for two minutes. We insist for an hour. The paste is ready.
Subtleties of preparing the solution (video)
Some housewives add additional ingredients. Let's watch the video and learn tips for preparing a solution based on baby soap. It turns out that you can use a soap solution instead of water:How to starch a shirt at home
The procedure is very simple:- choose a method suitable for the product;
- prepare the solution according to the recipes described above;
- completely immerse the shirt in the resulting composition for about thirty minutes;
- straighten the item and hang it to dry;
- While drying, periodically spray the product with water;
- You need to iron a slightly damp shirt, a dry item is difficult to iron;
- Cuffs and collars are ironed several times.
How to starch a shirt collar and cuffs
If the product looks good, you can starch only the cuffs and collar. We will use a hard solution. Carefully submerge the collar and cuffs one at a time. We repeat the procedure three or four times and hang the shirt on hangers.An alternative way is to prepare starch milk. Dissolve 30-50 grams of starch in one liter of water. Potato or corn powder will do. Infuse the solution for two minutes. In a glass of water, dilute 15-20 grams of coarse salt. Combine the ingredients and leave for 1.5-2 hours until fully cooked.
We lower the cuffs and collar one by one into the paste. We are in no hurry to push it. You must wait until the water drains on its own. Without waiting for complete drying, we begin to iron the components of the shirt.
It is better to wash heavily contaminated areas before starting the procedure. To treat the components of the shirt, you can use a brush or spray. Gently apply starch to the cuffs and collar. After drying, iron the treated part well.
The product will look like new. A shirt starched in this way can be worn constantly. The main part of the item is not treated, which allows air to pass through the fabric.
The quality of such a procedure will be lower. Don't get carried away with this method.
2. It is not recommended to dry things in the cold. The shirt takes a long time to dry. The density of the fabric decreases.
3. You can add other ingredients to the paste:
- melted stearin, which gives things a touch of gloss;
- salt for extra shine;
- a couple of drops of turpentine, which will help you iron the product with ease.
5. If the starch is not completely dissolved, it must be strained.
The starched product looks great. Dry cleaning and machine washing do not have this effect. The only negative is that such a shirt becomes too rigid, especially the collar, which can cause slight discomfort when wearing the product. What can you do to always be on top?
Men's shirts, children's blouses and shirts for morning parties, school uniforms and special events, lush dresses of New Year's “snowflakes” - you can’t list everything, and all this should have a presentable appearance exactly when it’s needed! So what is the secret of this beauty and solemnity of clothing? That's right - the collars and cuffs are snow-white and hold their shape throughout the entire event.
But no matter how we iron our clothes, the collar will not stand up and the cuffs will quickly wrinkle. To prevent this from happening, we resort to the help of starch. The starched collar of a men's shirt has a completely different, more elegant look, and the “snowflake” skirt seems to always be in flight. So in what way can we understand how to starch a collar? It's simple - make a starch solution and go!
Collars men's shirts They are subjected to semi-hard starching, since a heavily starched collar turns out to be excessively rigid and greatly hinders the movements of the neck, and often even injures it. The solution for starching the collars of shirts, children's and women's cotton blouses is done as follows - approximately one tablespoon of starch is dissolved in a liter of cool water. The collar is immersed in this solution and left for some time.
A starch solution can also be prepared according to the paste principle - dissolve the required amount of starch in a small amount of cold water (1 tablespoon for soft starch or 2 tablespoons for a “harder” starch), pour this solution into boiling water and boil. After the solution has cooled, immerse the product or the desired part of it - in our case, the collar - into it.
Many people still use a strong starch solution to starch collars and cuffs, obtaining a highly starched version. This is explained by the fact that a collar starched in this way remains “standing” and presentable for a long time. As for the inconveniences of a hard collar, you can easily endure them! Along with potato starch, rice and corn starch are often used. I would like to note that corn starch is less strong, so housewives prefer rice or potato starch.
After starching, the collar should dry. Only after this can you start ironing. But under no circumstances should you over-dry the collar, as in this case you will not be able to iron it properly. If you notice on the collar yellow spots, then they should definitely be removed before starching. Remove such stains with hydrogen peroxide.
There are more complex ways to starch a collar. For example, preparing a solution from rice or potato starch (take two tablespoons per liter of cold water for hard starching), cosmetic borax in the amount of 15 grams (dissolve it in a glass of hot water).
The cooled borax solution is poured into the starch solution and allowed to brew for an hour or two. Then the collars are soaked in the resulting solution, excess starch is removed with a dry white cotton rag and ironed while wet in the usual way. The result will definitely please you. And one more simple piece of advice - great option for busy people, men who don’t have time to cook starch, these are store-bought sprays with starch. Using this spray is convenient, simple and quick.
To starch a shirt means to give it a festive and solemn look.
Some events require a strict dress code: business negotiations, lectures, corporate meetings or presentations. The success of the speech largely depends on the image of the speaker - the trousers must fit perfectly, and the shirt must look as fresh as if it had just been ironed. Impeccably straight cuffs and collar will be the finishing touch to the formal look.
Skilled professionals will help you achieve such perfection. female hands and starch from the kitchen cabinet - bringing clothes into proper shape at home is as easy as shelling pears. Read more about how to starch a shirt at home.
How to starch a shirt: follow the rules
Before you begin the procedure, pay attention to the density and composition of the fabric of the product.
Shirts made of thin cambric or chiffon are starched using a weak solution - 1 tsp. starch per liter of water.
Shirts made from natural fabrics of medium or high density are treated with a solution of medium concentration - 1 tbsp. starch per liter of water.
For collars and cuffs - the densest parts of the product - use a highly concentrated solution with the addition of table salt or borax.
Before starching an item of clothing, wash, dry and iron it. After reading the label on the product, prepare the mixture at the desired concentration and cool.
Pour into a basin, immerse the shirt in it - the liquid should be absorbed evenly into the fabric. Leave for 5-10 minutes, then gently squeeze, shake so that there are no creases, and hang to dry on a hanger.
How to process collars and cuffs
Before you starch the collar, you need to wash it. Let's look at how to starch a shirt collar. In order for the collar to “stand up” and the cuffs to be smooth and stiff, you need to prepare an intensive solution: 2 tbsp. starch per liter of water. Sometimes housewives add salt or borax to it - these substances return light shine to clothes, which is lost as a result of starching, and make the ironing process easier.
Dilute 1 tsp. salt (or borax) in a glass of hot water, and 2 tbsp. starch in a liter of cold water. Pour everything into one pan, stir and cook the mixture over low heat, without boiling, for 2-3 minutes. Cool and leave for an hour.
Before starching the collar of a white shirt, treat it with hydrogen peroxide to remove traces of dirt and sweat.
Apply the mixture to the collar and cuffs with a soft sponge, rubbing the fabric with it until the liquid is completely absorbed. Iron thoroughly. You should not dry it, otherwise you will not be able to iron the parts well afterwards.
Shirt fabric of different colors and composition: what to starch?
If the shirt is made of light fabric, use potato starch, because... rice or corn can “give” the product an untidy yellowish or grayish tint.
On dark products, starch leaves streaks - replace it with gelatin.
The recipe is as follows. Soak 2 tbsp. solution in 0.5 liters of cold water for about an hour. Heat the mixture until the swollen granules are completely dissolved, then add 1-1.5 liters of warm water and immerse the shirt (or part) in the solution for several minutes.
Pay attention to the composition of the material. It makes no sense to starch a shirt made of polyester, viscose, acetate or textiles with a high content of artificial threads - there will be no result. The fact is that starch imparts rigidity only to natural fabric, filling the pores inside the crimped fibers, while synthetics have an ordered microstructure. Porosity is characteristic of fibers of cotton, linen, tencel or lyocell (eucalyptus), bamboo, ramie (nettle), hemp.
Please note that by starching a shirt, you deprive natural fabric of its main advantages - hygroscopicity and breathability. Do not overuse this procedure, as the skin should breathe freely! Use it from time to time for special occasions and celebrations, or limit yourself to starching individual details.
How to properly starch a shirt? Video tip:
To starch a shirt means to give it a festive and especially solemn look. This method has been used everywhere for a very long time, but now it is undeservedly forgotten. So, what is this technique and why is it interesting?
Why are shirts starched?
Starch, penetrating into the pores of the fabric, makes the product tougher, making the shirt look like new. Besides this:
- starched products retain their appearance longer because their texture becomes denser and they wear out less;
- after this procedure, things do not wrinkle longer;
- the layer that forms when ironing starched shirts provides additional whiteness;
- starched products are covered with a kind of film that serves as a dirt-repellent barrier; When washed, the film dissolves and the item is washed in the usual way.
It is important to know that it only makes sense to starch shirts made from natural fabrics. Synthetic materials do not have the necessary porous texture, so starching them will not work.
TO negative aspects the use of starch refers to the fact that after this procedure natural fabrics They stop allowing air to fully pass through, so you shouldn’t wear starched clothes all the time.
Preparing the composition (paste)
Before deciding how to starch a shirt, you should pay attention to the material (fabric) from which it is made:
- products made of chiffon or cambric are starched using a gentle method;
- for cotton, a semi-rigid method is used;
- dense items or individual parts (collar, cuffs) can only be starched using the hard method.
The gentle method: pour the liquid from a liter of cold water into another container and dissolve 1 tsp in it. without a mountain of starch. There should be no lumps, otherwise the effect will not be complete. Boil the rest of the water and pour the diluted starch into it. Boil in this form for 3 minutes, stirring continuously. The finished paste should be transparent and homogeneous.
For the semi-rigid method, the technology for preparing the paste is similar, but you need to take twice as much starch (1 tablespoon).
Hard method: 2 tbsp. Pour starch into 1 tbsp. water and grind thoroughly to a mushy form. Separately, take a glass of hot boiled water and add 15 grams to it. salt, stir until the crystals are completely dissolved. Then both solutions are mixed and boiled for 2 minutes, and after that the paste is left for at least an hour to infuse.
You can't starch the entire shirt, just the collar. Thanks to this move, the collar (and the shirt as a whole) will look more presentable, it will be much easier to wash (and the collar and cuffs are the most difficult parts to remove stains).
For such a procedure, it is worth choosing a hard method. Before work, you can additionally go over the fabric with a napkin soaked in peroxide (this will get rid of yellow spots).
Technology
The method is simple and publicly available. So, to starch a shirt you need:
- prepare a paste (as described above);
- completely dip the product into the composition and soak it for 30-35 minutes;
- take out the shirt and hang it neatly, straightened;
- as it dries, spray with water from a spray bottle several times;
- when the shirt is slightly damp, iron it; Iron the collar and cuffs additionally.
You should not hang freshly starched shirts to dry on the balcony, where they will be exposed to direct sunlight. It also makes no sense to dry such products on a radiator, since there is a high probability of drying the product, and then smoothing it out will be extremely problematic. The ideal option is to dry it in room conditions on a hanger.
- Shirts can be starched in washing machine. To do this, diluted starch must be poured into the conditioner compartment, and other detergents must not be used in this cycle.
- To give the product a ceremonial glossy shade, you need to add melted stearin to the paste.
- Drying starched items in the cold is possible, but difficult; This will not give additional rigidity to the product.
- You can add a little salt to the paste to add shine to the products.
Starching a thing means making it much more attractive and presentable. No amount of washing or dry cleaning will provide such a bright effect. This procedure is quite economical, and most importantly, it allows you to preserve the appearance of the shirt longer.
The starched collar and cuffs look especially stylish and elegant. The fading popularity of this method of processing products is associated with the emergence of a large number of synthetic fabrics, but for high-quality natural shirts and blouses this is still an excellent and effective method.
A hand-knitted item is a real work of art, so every needlewoman wants her creation to remain in its original form for as long as possible. So that the product, be it a lace napkin, tablecloth or knitted collar, does not require constant smoothing and tugging, it must be starched. Each needlewoman has her own way of giving things the desired shape. In this article we will tell you how to starch knitted product not only using starch, but also sugar, gelatin, PVA glue.
How to prepare the solution correctly
To give the desired shape to a voluminous object, for example, a vase, box, etc., starch is not suitable, since it does not provide enough rigidity, but for such things as a collar or a napkin, it can be used. In addition, after a certain time, starch turns a little yellow, as do gelatin and PVA glue, so it is better to use sugar for projects made from white and light yarn.
The ingredients for the starch solution are taken in the following proportions: for 1 glass of water, 1 tbsp. spoon of starch. Accordingly, for 1 liter of water you will need 5 tablespoons of starch.
To prepare a sugar solution, you need to take 3 tbsp per 1 glass of water. spoons of sugar (per 1 liter of water - 15 tablespoons of sugar).
The cooking method is the same in both cases. You need to pour the required volume of water into the pan, add sugar or starch and mix thoroughly. Then place the pan over medium heat and bring to a boil. After this, carefully remove from the heat and wait for the solution to cool to a temperature at which it will not burn your hands. Next, lower a knitted item, such as a collar, into it. The water should cover it entirely.
You should leave the product under water for 5-10 minutes, then remove it and gently squeeze it out. After this, lay the collar on a flat surface on a previously placed dry towel. This is done so that during drying the work does not curl up and retains its shape.
The edges of the openwork object must be attached to the towel using safety pins, having previously given them shape.
"Cold" method
You can starch a knitted collar using the “cold” method. This will require 2 liters of water and 1 tablespoon of starch. With these proportions, the collar will not be too rigid, but its shape will remain for a long time.
It is necessary to dissolve the starch in cold water, place the product in the mixture and leave for 20-30 minutes. After this time, the collar should be removed, wrung out and laid out on a flat surface, after placing a towel. Then cover with a thin scarf or cloth, smooth and shape the openwork edges. After this, the work should be ironed, and not overdry, but leave slightly damp. Then set aside until the item is completely dry for a couple of hours.
If the item is ironed until completely dry, it will soon acquire a yellowish color.
Don't forget that starched items are "afraid" of water. This means that after washing you will have to carry out this procedure again.
How to add stiffness to bulky knitted items
To add rigidity to bulky knitted items, you can use gelatin or PVA glue. You need to dry such things by stretching them over a three-dimensional object of a suitable shape: a glass, cup, bowl, dish.
You can use a tube or cardboard box for this purpose. It must be lined with polyethylene, otherwise the knitted product will stick to the cardboard when it dries.
Gelatin
A gelatin-treated item will be tougher than a starched item.
There are two recipes for preparing gelatin solution.
- You need to pour 1 teaspoon of gelatin with 1 glass of water. Let it swell for 1 hour, then the mixture must be heated without boiling. Submerge knitted item into hot gelatin, then stretch onto the mold.
- Mix a packet of gelatin, 1 tablespoon of salt and half a glass of cold water in a half-liter jar. Place in a steam bath and stir with a fork or whisk until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Dip the product into hot gelatin, then pull it onto the mold without squeezing.
Gelatin forms a transparent film on the fibers, leaving no traces.
PVA glue
Instead of gelatin, you can use PVA glue. It must be diluted with water in a 1:1 ratio and soaked into the wet object.
