Finishing · Beginner
Stiffening crochet
To stiffen crochet, wet the finished piece with a stiffener, hold it in the shape you want, and leave it until it is dry. The stiffener can be starch, white glue thinned with water, or a ready-made fabric stiffener. A flat piece is pinned out; a curved one dries over a form. Once dry, it keeps that shape.
How to work it
Pin a flat piece out
Lay a flat piece on a board that pins will go into, covered with plastic wrap or waxed paper. Smooth it to its shape and pin it with rust-proof pins. On a piece with points, pin every point.
Shape a curved piece over a form
A piece that is meant to curve or to stand up dries over something of the right shape: an upturned bowl, a cup, a ball of plastic wrap. Smooth the wet piece over the form and leave it there.
At a glance
- Also called
- starching crochet
- Used for
- snowflakes and other ornaments that have to hold their points; doilies and other lace that should lie crisp and flat; pieces that stand up or hold a curve, dried over a form
- Spray starch
- Sprayed onto the piece as it is pinned out, with no soaking.
- Liquid starch
- Used as it comes or thinned with water: the more water, the softer the finish. Go by the directions on the bottle.
- White glue and water
- Equal parts of white glue and water, stirred together in a bowl. A firm finish that is meant to last.
- Fabric stiffener
- A ready-made liquid for this job, used for ornaments and other pieces that must hold a shape. Go by the directions on the product.
- Brushing it on
- Instead of soaking the piece, pin it out dry and brush the stiffener or the glue onto it.
- Which yarn
- Cotton takes a stiffener far better than acrylic. Most pieces that are stiffened are made in cotton thread or cotton yarn.
- What you need
- A clean bowl, towels, rust-proof pins, and a board covered with plastic wrap or waxed paper.
How stiff the piece comes out depends on what it is wet with. Liquid starch can be made firmer or softer by the water added to it. For a piece that must stay rigid, such as a snowflake that hangs, makers reach for thinned glue or a fabric stiffener.
Starch does not last through a wash. A starched piece that has been washed is starched and shaped again. A glue finish is meant to stay.
Stiffening is a kind of blocking, with something added to the water. A piece that only needs its stitches evened and its edges straightened is blocked with water or steam alone.
Tips
- Use rust-proof pins. Ordinary pins can leave rust marks on a wet piece.
When it goes wrong
- There is a white or hard film on the piece.
- Stiffener that is left on the surface dries as a film that hides the stitches. Blot the wet piece with a clean towel before you pin it, and again once it is pinned.
- The piece went limp after it was washed.
- Starch washes out. Starch the piece and shape it again.
- My acrylic piece will not hold its shape.
- Acrylic does not take a stiffener the way cotton does. Pieces that are to be stiffened are made in cotton.
Questions
- What can I use to stiffen crochet?
- Spray starch, liquid starch, white glue mixed with an equal part of water, or a ready-made fabric stiffener. Starch washes out; glue and fabric stiffener are for pieces that must stay rigid.
- How do I stiffen a crochet snowflake?
- Wet it with thinned white glue, liquid starch or fabric stiffener, press out the extra, and pin it out flat with a pin in every point. Leave it pinned until it is completely dry.
- How do I starch a doily?
- Pin it out and spray it with starch. Or soak it in liquid starch, thinned with more water for a softer finish, blot it, and pin it out flat to its shape. Leave it until it is dry.
- Does the stiffener wash out?
- Starch does: a washed piece is starched again. A glue finish is meant to stay.