Having recently read a recipe for spray starch that does not include cooking the starch, I thought I’d share the recipe that my Nana used when she made her own spray starch.   This recipe can be scaled up or down – just keep your ratios the same and it will work.  Cooking the starch will prolong the life and it won’t need to be shaken as frequently during use.

You’ll need

Small to medium Sauce pan

1 tablespoon Corn starch

1 ½ cups Water

Spray Bottle

Instructions

1.  Put your water on to boil.

2.  Mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold water.

3.  Once your water is boiling, stir the cornstarch and water mixture created in step 2 very well, then stir into your boiling water.

4.  Stir mixture well until it goes clear.  Remove from heat.

5.  Let your starch cool off before putting it into the spray bottle.

OPTIONAL: Adding a few drops of essential oil while the mixture is still hot is an option.  Go light, though, because essential oils are very strong.  

Cost:  An excellent savings at around .22 cents per batch compared to $5 for 12oz of a pump spray starch and over $2 for 12oz (most are 20oz cans, so I did some math! 🙂 oooooh) of an aerosolized spray starch. 

This is a recipe for a medium to light weight starch that is sprayable.  If this is too stiff for your needs, warm it up and add a little water.   If you need a stiffer starch, experiment with the water to cornstarch ratio, but remember if you make the starch very stiff, it will probably not go through the sprayer.

If you’re needing a ‘dip’ starch, the ratio of starch to water needs to increase (i.e., ½ cup starch to 8 to 10 cups water).   The only time I use dip starch is for crocheted doilies, so I don’t make a lot at once.