How to starch a shirt and return it to its original appearance? How to starch the collar and cuffs of a men's shirt.

Starching shirts today is gaining its former popularity, lost with the advent of a variety of chemical clothing care products. Increasingly, you can now find washing powders and fabric softeners with the addition of a starch base.

Starched things wear out less, retain freshness and shape longer, look more elegant and well-groomed.

You can starch any thing: linen, clothes or a denser fabric, but most often shirts or their individual elements, such as a collar or cuffs, are subjected to this procedure, and all for the same reason - in order to make the shirt look more elegant or even festive and retained its “presentation” longer and did not turn into “worn out” after the 10th wash. Starched things are stiffer and wrinkle less. Sometimes you can even get rid of stains on white shirts by starching, because starch has some bleaching properties.

What allows starched things to get such properties? Let's first understand what starching is.

Starch is a natural polysaccharide used for a variety of industrial purposes (from food to coal industry), it has been used to care for textiles since antiquity. Starch was obtained then mainly from wheat, but today it can be obtained from various natural raw materials: potatoes, corn, rice, and even such exotic products as cassava or chestnut. Since polysaccharides have a heterogeneous molecular structure, they fill the "gaps" of the tissue (natural tissues have such, and there is nothing to starch polymeric tissues) with their molecules of different sizes, and thus, give the tissue stiffness and other properties associated with this. .

As you now understand, depending on what kind of fabric you want to starch (hard or not), the concentration of starch in the starch liquid will also depend.

There are three types of starching: hard, medium and soft. Hard is used for fast wrinkling and fairly dense fabrics with a large distance between the fibers (cotton), medium for softer fabrics, soft for organza, chiffon and other light fabrics. The choice of the type of starching also depends on the thing you want to starch: cuffs and collars are hard starched, sometimes shirts, if necessary, mostly clothes are starched with an average level of hardness, as well as bed and table linen, curtains, handkerchiefs and napkins subjected to soft starching.

Now let's figure out how to prepare a starch solution for different levels of hardness.

Hard starching of shirts. For this type we take somewhere 50 gr. Starch of any kind (potato starch is more familiar to us, but if you want to whiten a thing a little, take rice starch), dissolve it in 1 liter of cold water, then take borax (sodium tetraborate decahydrate is a substance consisting of transparent crystals, it adds rigidity) and mixed with hot water, bring to complete dissolution, cool and mix with dissolved starch. If the resulting solution is cloudy, it should be heated again, without bringing to a boil. Cool down again. All the time of preparation, you should carefully monitor so that lumps do not form, for this the solution must be constantly stirred. If, nevertheless, you did not follow, and lumps appeared, strain the solution through cheesecloth.

Now you need to dip the shirt into the resulting solution if you want to hard starch it all, or individual parts (only the collar or cuffs). Immediately after the shirt has been soaked in the solution, wring it out lightly and hang it up to dry a little, but don't let it dry! While still damp, the shirt should be carefully ironed. That's it, your starched shirt is ready. Since the starching was hard, the gaps in the fabric were filled with starch, the shirt looks good, but does not "breathe", therefore, such shirts should not be worn for a long time, this may adversely affect the condition of the skin.

Starch of medium hardness. The most common starching is medium hard starching. For such starching, from 10 to 30 grams is taken. Starch per liter of water, in this case there is no need to add borax: starch will provide all the hardness. Carefully lower the straightened things into the solution (in no case do we immerse crumpled or folded shirts in the starch solution, after starching in this form it will be difficult to smooth them out). After that, you can hang the shirt on a hanger and leave to dry, and then carefully smooth it out. Do not leave things too dry, because after starching and strong drying, they will not smooth out, and the starching properties will be lost.

Soft starching. For soft starching, do the same as for medium hard starching, only instead of 10 grams, take 5 grams. For 1 sheet of water.

If you starch any clothes (not just a shirt), then it will look elegant and beautiful, as well as less dirty and easier to wash. When ironing starched clothes, a thin film forms on the surface of the fabric, which draws in dust and dirt. And if such clothes are soaked, then the film will instantly dissolve along with the pollution.

The paste can be prepared in several types: for a hard, semi-hard or soft starching method. You can use corn starch, potato starch, or rice starch to starch your shirt. You can buy it in almost any grocery store.

Starch is the main reserve polysaccharide of plants, accumulating grains in the cells of tubers, seeds, bulbs and stems. Starch does not dissolve in cold water, but forms a paste in hot water.

If you need to starch a shirt made of thin material (cambric, chiffon), it is better to use a soft method. To do this, you need to take starch at the rate of one teaspoon per 1 liter of water. First, it must be dissolved in a small amount of water (about a glass). The rest of the water must be boiled. The resulting mixture must be poured into boiling water and mixed thoroughly. To make the solution transparent, you need to hold it on low heat for 3-4 minutes.

If you need to starch a shirt made of a dense material, such as cotton, then you need to choose a semi-rigid method. Then a tablespoon of food starch is added, and everything else is done in the same way.

Since cuffs and collars need to be stiffer than the shirt, it is better to use the hard starching method for them. For 1 liter of water, you need to take two tablespoons of starch (preferably rice) and dissolve. Then add 15 grams of sodium salt to a glass of hot water and cool. Next, you need to mix the solutions. If the mixture turned out to be cloudy, you need to boil it for a few more minutes and then let it brew for about an hour.

So, the solution is ready, it remains to starch the shirt. It must be remembered that starch particles fill the "free places" between the fibers of the fabric. Such "gaps" are found in natural fibers, so a shirt made of artificial fabric does not need to be starched.

First you need to lower the shirt into the paste for 20 minutes. Then you need to wring it out a little and hang it to dry. To make it easier to iron the shirt, you do not need to dry it for a long time. If the fabric is dry, then you can sprinkle it with a spray bottle and leave for a few minutes to “move off” the material.

A spray can be called otherwise - a spray. This is a device in the form of a small bottle that allows you to spray liquids by pressing a small lever with your finger.

Then it is necessary to starch the collar and cuffs in a paste prepared according to the hard starching method. To do this, you need to lower only the necessary parts of the shirt into the solution, rub them (as when washing) and leave for 15 minutes in a paste. Then you need to slightly squeeze them, straighten and dry. Collar and cuffs are ironed slightly damp.

After that, the dress look of your shirt is provided.

In Soviet times, starching a shirt was incredibly popular. It is understandable, because this method in a fairly short time gives almost any item of clothing an unusually festive and solemn look. Today, most young women and men prefer to dry-clean their shirts before the holidays, or even buy a new item.

Meanwhile, with the help of starching, you can easily restore the former beauty of your favorite shirt right at home, and not waste money. In this article, we will tell you how to correctly and correctly starch a men's or women's shirt to make it more elegant and beautiful and give its owner a solemn look.

What are the benefits and harms of starching clothes?

Almost all housewives know that after starching, any product will take on an elegant and solemn look. Meanwhile, this is far from the only useful property of this procedure.

So, after the starch penetrates the pores of the fabric, the following discoveries await you:

• The texture of the material will become much denser, as a result of which the product will wear out less and retain its appearance for a long time;
• The garment will wrinkle much less;
• In addition, when ironing starched items, a special layer is formed that provides the product with additional whiteness;
• After the procedure, all things will be covered with a kind of film that can protect them from dirt. With the next wash, this film will disappear and the product will return to its previous structure.

Despite the large number of useful properties of starching, you should not constantly do this procedure. This is due to the fact that starched materials practically cease to let air through, which means that your skin will have nothing to breathe. It is worth noting that only things made of natural cotton, cambric or chiffon can be starched. Synthetic fabrics do not have the necessary porous structure, so this procedure does not have any effect on them.

Preparation of paste by various methods

In order to starch the entire shirt, or just its collar and cuffs, a starch solution or paste should be prepared. For different types of fabric from which the product is sewn, different methods of preparing the paste are used. So, thin batiste or chiffon blouses are starched in a soft way, cotton clothes are starched in a semi-rigid way, and tight shirts made of natural materials are starched in a hard way. The starching of the collar and cuffs, that is, the individual elements of the shirt, is also done in a hard way.

The following recipes will help you prepare a paste for each type of material:

• Soft way: take a liter of cold clean water and pour some liquid into a separate container. In the second bowl, carefully dissolve one teaspoon of potato starch, while being very careful not to form lumps. Put the remaining most of the water on the fire and bring to a boil, then pour in the dissolved starch there. Stirring continuously, cook this mass for 3 minutes. The product prepared in this way should be transparent and have a homogeneous structure;
• A starch solution for processing natural cotton products using a semi-rigid method is prepared in exactly the same way, but instead of one teaspoon, you need to take one tablespoon of the active substance;
• Making a paste in a hard way is a little different from previous recipes. Take two tablespoons of potato starch and pour one tablespoon of clean water at room temperature into it. It is necessary to carefully grind the resulting mass and give it a mushy form. Pour 250 ml of boiling water into a separate bowl and carefully dissolve 15 grams of table salt in it. Mix both resulting solutions, mix well, put everything on the stove and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. After that, remove the paste from the stove and set aside for at least 1 hour to let it brew.

How to starch a shirt yourself at home?

To starch a whole shirt or blouse, use the following instructions:

• Prepare a paste according to one of the three recipes and, if necessary, let it brew;
• Completely dip the product in the prepared composition and leave it for 30-35 minutes;
• After this time, remove the shirt, straighten it and hang it carefully on a coat hanger. Dry clothes in a room at a temperature of 20-22 degrees Celsius. Do not hang the product on the balcony, because direct sunlight can fall on it there, which negatively affects the material. Drying on a battery, beloved by many, is also not suitable in this situation. During it, there is a high probability of overdrying the shirt, after which it will be extremely difficult to smooth it out;
• Until the product is completely dry, it must be sprayed every 2-3 hours with clean water from a spray bottle;
• When the blouse or shirt is almost dry but still slightly damp, iron it gently with an iron, paying special attention to the collar and cuffs;
• You can starch only the collar and cuffs of the shirt in the same way as the whole product. But the prepared composition in this case must be applied only to the desired areas, for example, a collar.

To achieve the best effect, you can use the following tips:

• You can starch a shirt not only by hand, but also in a washing machine. To do this, before setting the washing program, pour the diluted starch into the conditioner compartment. No other means should be used in this cycle. After the washing machine has finished, remove the shirt and dry it as described earlier. In most cases, this method is used when it is necessary to starch several things at once;
• If you add molten stearin to the paste, you can get an unusual glossy shade;
• To add shine to the product, you can add a little table salt.

We hope that our tips on how to properly starch a shirt will help you preserve your favorite products made from natural materials and significantly extend their service life. Despite the fact that starching is rarely used today, this method in some cases allows you to achieve really impressive results, while spending very little money.

An old shirt is not a sentence yet, so you should not immediately replace it with a new product. You can return the old look and make the shirt suitable for daily use again using the old forgotten method.

Starch enjoyed wide popularity in ancient times. People processed their clothes with it so that it acquired an elegant and solemn look. However, this is not the only reason for using the powder. Starching has a strong effect on the structure of the fabric, making the product more resistant to various damages.

How starching affects a shirt

In the process of processing the material, starch penetrates deeply into the fibers of the fabric, fills the spaces between them, providing a number of advantages:

• Due to the compaction of the texture, the shirt takes on a fresh look and may not wear out for a long time.
• Starched things can not wrinkle for a long time.
• During ironing with a hot iron, the starch layer is compacted, giving the product an additional whiteness.
• A powdered solution of starch forms a ball over the shirt, which protects clothing from contamination. During washing, this film dissolves in water along with dust.

Important! Starched clothes are not intended for frequent use, especially in hot weather. A dense layer of starch does not allow the body to breathe, having a negative effect on the human body.

What men's shirts can be starched

You can starch only products made from natural fabrics, the surface of which is covered with small interfiber cells where starch particles are located. These include:

• thin materials (chiffon, cambric);
• thick fabrics (cotton).

Synthetic shirts do not have a porous structure, so the starching process does not make sense for them.

Reference! You can process not only white products. Colored materials are also amenable to the action of starch. However, it should be remembered that multi-colored shirts must be ironed on the reverse side so as not to leave marks from the iron.

How to make a paste for starching clothes at home

When preparing a paste, it is necessary first of all to take into account the material from which the clothes are sewn. Depending on the density of the tissue, the concentration of the preparation of the solution changes:

Soft method, used for processing light natural fabrics

• Pour 1 liter of cold purified liquid into two vessels.
• In one of the containers, dilute a teaspoon of starch and make sure that there are no lumps.
• Put another bowl of water on the fire and bring to a boil, gradually adding the solution with the powder
• Cook the mass for 3 minutes, stirring it constantly. The result should be a transparent homogeneous agent.

Medium method, used for starching natural cotton items

• Pour 0.5 liters of chilled water into two identical containers.
• In the first, stir 1 tablespoon of starch until completely dissolved.
• Boil water in the second vessel and gradually pour in the well-mixed starch.
• Boil the paste for about 3 minutes until a clear liquid is obtained.

Hard method, designed for starching shirts made of dense material, as well as for processing cuffs and collars

• Add a tablespoon of water at room temperature to two tablespoons of starch in a container. Grind the mixture until a homogeneous slurry is formed.
• Dissolve 15 g of salt in a glass of boiling water.
• Pour the brine solution into the starch gruel and boil over low heat for about three minutes.
• Let the solution stand for one hour.

Soap solution based method, which is used for light types of fabrics

Attention! You can get rid of lumps of starch by straining the paste through gauze. Starched items are not recommended to be exposed to moisture, as the product will have to be washed and the processing process repeated.

Before starting work, it is necessary to wash and remove soiled stains from the shirt, as yellowness or dirt can remain and spoil the whole look of the finished product. It is recommended to pay attention to the following points:

• Cotton items are best washed in hot water, after soaking for a while. After washing, apply a double rinse.
• Lightweight fabrics do not require pre-soaking, and when washing, you can select a small mode. You can rinse these products manually.

How to starch your own shirt

In order for the process of starching things to be successful and quickly, it is necessary to follow the basic rules during work:

• depending on the fabric of the shirt, you need to prepare the appropriate paste;
• for 35 minutes, place the product in the prepared mixture;
• remove the thing from the solution, hang it on a trempel and dry at room temperature;
• during the drying process, it is necessary to sprinkle the shirt with clean water every 3 hours;
• without waiting for complete drying, the wet product must be ironed well.

Important! After processing, things should not be hung near the battery or in the sun, since subsequently the fabric will not be smoothed.

Useful tips for starching shirts at home

The main tips that will greatly facilitate the workflow, while not reducing the effectiveness of the result:

• To starch several products at the same time, you can use a washing machine. To do this, pour a starch solution into the air conditioner compartment, without adding any cleaning agents. Then set the washing program and, at the end, pull out the things.
• For a glossy finish, melted stearin can be added to the starch.
• Table salt mixed with the solution will add shine to the fabric.
• Do not dry laundry after starching in the cold, as it will be difficult to smooth out.

The process of processing shirts is not in demand among the population today, but the end result of the usual starching of things exceeds all expectations, leaving behind modern methods that are used in dry cleaners.

Before proceeding with the consideration of the starching process, we need to figure out what we will work with.

What is starch?

It is the application in textiles that will continue to interest us.

What is starching for?

Let's proceed directly to the purpose of starch in the textile field.

1. Reduced wear rate. If the shirt is meant to be worn every day, or at least often, and you keep it starched all the time, you will notice that it wears out much more slowly than without starch. This effect appears due to the compaction of the texture of the fabric fibers.
2. Since starched things are somewhat stiffer, they do not wrinkle as much as usual. Rigidity appears due to the appearance of an additional layer, starch. It becomes especially dense and resistant after ironing.
3. The same layer is also responsible for the additional whiteness of the clothes.
4. The starch layer provides a "stain-repellent" function. All rubbish is collected on starch, and during washing it (starch) dissolves, making it easy to wash dirt that has not penetrated deep into the fibers.

It is necessary to starch clean clothes. Before the procedure, wash it and dry it thoroughly.

Ironing is not required, but recommended. Also, decide if you need to starch the entire shirt or just the sleeves and cuffs? The amount of starch required depends on this.

It is advisable to iron the shirt

Starching

So that during the starching procedure there are no unnecessary unpleasant surprises, prepare everything in advance. You may need:

• starch (it is better to use rice or potato, but corn may also work);
• salt (optional)
• a container for starching a shirt (a basin, for example);
• saucepan.

Preparing a solution for starching

To prepare a paste, you can use rice, corn and potato starch. The concentration of the solution depends on the type of tissue prepared for starching.

When you have prepared the paste, pour it into a bowl and put the shirt there.

Put the shirt in a bowl of paste, if it is not enough, then add liquid

Let it soak, then take it out and hang it on a hanger in a well-ventilated place to dry. Once the shirt is dry, it will need to be ironed, and you're done.

If you do not need a thorough starching, then this recipe will come in handy:

1. Use a weak starch solution.
2. For half an hour, lower the shirt into a basin with a solution.
3. Hang on a hanger and let dry, iron as needed.

How to starch a shirt?

With a collar and cuffs, the actions are somewhat different, but not much. How to starch a collar?

1. For cuffs and collars, either a medium or a saturated solution is always used.
2. Soak only the parts you need. Be careful, if it gets on the rest of the clothing, the fabric may become partially “rusk”. Then it will need to be washed.
3. Cuffs and collars should be dried immediately and ironed well so that there are no creases on the fabric.

For cuffs and collars, a stronger solution is needed

1. Always remember that starched clothes do not breathe well. This can be a serious problem, so heavily starched clothes should not be worn every day without taking them off. It is recommended to wear it for no longer than five hours, the skin should breathe well.
2. While the starched clothes are drying, keep an eye on this process, do not let it dry out. It's not too bad, but you'll need more strength to iron your shirt.
3. In order not to accidentally stain the shirt with paste, when you starch the collar and cuffs, use a spray gun, as an option, a brush. The key is to do it evenly.
4. You can starch a shirt in. It is not difficult to do this, you just need to add a couple of tablespoons of starch instead of the powder (or rather, pour the paste right away). Just remember to turn off the spin and extra rinse mode. In the case of the first function, you will get a shirt that will have to be ironed long and hard. In the second, a shirt, barely starched, if not fully stretched.
5. Only shirts made of natural fabric can be starched. Synthetics are simply not able to keep the polysaccharide in the fibers; it will fall out in the form of a powder. Constantly. It will make little sense, if not at all.

1. Starched things must be very carefully dried in the cold. The problem is, if the water turns to ice, you will knock out the starch along with that ice.
2. If you want to give the shirt an effect, then add a little melted stearin to the paste. You can look for it in pharmacies.
3. To give the fabric a natural sheen, add a teaspoon of salt to the paste. It may not even be complete, otherwise salt stains may appear.

How to starch a shirt at home? Now you know all the subtleties about starching clothes, and simple tips will help you avoid unnecessary difficulties.