6. Starch:
(1) Use:
(a) To stiffen fabrics and thus improve their appearance.
(b) To give fabrics a glazed surface, so that they will shed dust and other impurities.
(2) Kinds.—(a) Cold starch, (b) boiled starch.
Raw starch does not give as durable a finish as cooked starch, but it does give greater stiffness. A fabric will take up more starch in the raw form, and the heat of the iron cooks the starch, thus producing the stiffness. The "body", or stiffness, produced by cooked starch is usually preferable, though on account of its preparation, it is not so convenient to use.
(a) Cold Starch
| 2 tbsp. laundry starch |
| 1/2 tsp. borax |
| 2 cups cold water. |
Dissolve the borax in a little boiling water. Add the cold water gradually to the starch and mix thoroughly. Add the dissolved borax and stir well before using.