How to do It: Stiff Starch Grandma's Way

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Did you buy them???


I am wearing the shirt I put on at 7AM, it is after 9PM, and I am almost able to lower my arms.

Nope. No one else did either for this very reason, I think. I imagine that they would eventually loosen up? Maybe after a week or two of standing at attention?

 

[tonyb]

So is that solution you make with 1/2 cup of Argo starch enough for three shirts? Or more, maybe? I ask because if a 1 lb. box costs about three bucks, then half a cup would run about 75 cents, right? And if that is enough for three shirts, there's something like a quarter's worth of starch per shirt, which would seem less expensive than Niagra brand spray starch, although I wonder if it's any less costly than Sta Flo brand liquid starch, which is also quite effective for producing that old-fashioned, heavily starched finish.
My technique, which I've picked up through trial and error and the advice of others (some of which was acquired here), is to mix Sta Flo and water at a one-to-one (roughly) ratio in a spray bottle and then to spray the solution onto damp shirts (starting at the collar and working down) hanging from plastic hangers on the shower curtain rod. (I drape a towel -- one that could stand to be washed anyway -- over the edge of the tub and another on the floor to catch the drippings.)
I let the shirts air dry. They come out quite stiff. As I iron I apply some more Sto Flo-and-water solution from the spray bottle and as much steam as my cheap iron will produce. My order is a bit different -- I start with the sleeves and then attack (in order) the cuffs, the collar, the yoke, the back of the placket, the back of the shirt, the button side of the front and then the placket side. That's the way I usually do it, anyway. Sometimes I space out and discover as I'm putting the shirt on a hanger that I forgot to iron a whole section of shirt.
The procedure is indeed time consuming, and if it weren't for its therapeutic value it wouldn't be worth the trouble, seeing how the commercial laundry will do it for you fairly inexpensively. But wearing a crisp shirt -- even an old, holey shirt bought at the thrift shop long ago, such as the shirt I wore while hauling junk to the dump this past weekend -- usually goes some way toward brightening my disposition. Seriously, I'll starch and iron even well-worn "outdoors" shirts, provided they're made of cotton. They just plain look better that way.

 

[Jay]

Scotrace, this was an incredibly detailed and helpful thread. Thank you very much. Perhaps this will influence more people to provide such vivid descriptions and helpful tips to look so polished. Speaking of which, someone should do shoe polishing 101 next. Heck, maybe I will. Anyhow, I'm beginning to ramble. And now I must... Ramble On*.

*I just realized I'm listening to that song. Gee Whiz!

 

[scotrace]

6

Tony, I could get 6, perhaps 7 shirts out of a batch, depending on how thick and absorbant the fabric is. I did three here because the rest weren't laundered and I had time to do the photographing at that moment.
I had been using sprayed Sta-Flo for a few months (thanks to The Wingnut's excellent posts), and kept having problems with getting it evenly applied. Having the starch perfectly distributed is the best reason for dipping them, but spraying them over the shower is still a great way to do it.

 

[Orgetorix]

Nope. No one else did either for this very reason, I think. I imagine that they would eventually loosen up? Maybe after a week or two of standing at attention?

If they haven't loosened up in 70 years, they probably aren't going to in a few weeks. You'd probably have to boil them to soften them up. I'd be worried that the fibers are permanently creased where the shirts were folded, and that they might just break if you tried to wear them.

 

[GentlemanFarmer]

Great job on this !!

My mother had three sons, so she instructed us all on how to do laundry (including ironing), cook the essentials and clean house. Her favorite line was - "Once you're gone I don't want you to bounce back".

This is a great tutorial.

I'm going to try the solution on my Wranglers. When I drop them off at the cleaners here in Pennsylvania and ask for "extra heavy" starch they don't understand I want them to be able to stand in the corner unassisted. The cleaners in Texas know what you want when you ask for heavy starch on a pair of jeans.

 

[tonyb]

I could get 6, perhaps 7 shirts out of a batch, depending on how thick and absorbant the fabric is.

Having the starch perfectly distributed is the best reason for dipping them, but spraying them over the shower is still a great way to do it.

Well, that works out to be so inexpensive that the cost is hardly worth mentioning.
I know what you mean about uneven distribution. It seems more a problem with darker colors, as we can both attest.
As a somewhat off-topic aside -- a friend owns a 1902-vintage house, a good-sized structure that was apparently built for a large family of means. In the basement is some period laundry equipment, including a couple of large basins and a room that served as a clothes dryer. One wall is essentially covered with radiators (that's the heat). Perpendicular to that wall are two others with hooks, presumably for stringing line. A couple of windows open (it's a daylight basement) to allow for venting. You see all that and it becomes clear why tending to a household was a full-time job and then some back then.

 

[Jovan]

Although I don't believe in starching shirts (especially vintage!) this thread is pretty helpful in the ironing department.

Is it better to just close the the second to top button? I always closed the top and middle ones when hanging.

 

[missjo]

FANTASTIC!!!
I do this with my 1930s nurses apron (dont ask) and I think its absolutely fantastic that you do things the proper way!

Except of course that you need a 1930s iron and tv

 

[Jovan]

Since when did TVs exist in the 1930s?

 

[missjo]

Since when did TVs exist in the 1930s?

Regular broadcast programming occurred in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and the Soviet Union before World War II. The first regular electronic television broadcasts began in Germany in 1935, using first an electronic system with 180 lines, followed in 1937 with an improved system with 441 lines. The first regular public (i.e. not cable) television broadcasts with a modern level of definition (240 or more lines) were made in England in 1936 from Alexandra Palace.

 

[Jovan]

Oh. Well that settles it.

 

[missjo]

Oh. Well that settles it.

One of the first broadcasts was made by the nazis... broadcasted trough germany but also beamed into space, as all tv broadcasts are.
So images of dancing girls, men in uniform and lots of swastikas will be some of the first things aliens will see if they ever receive those broadcasts... oh dear

 

[Jovan]

Well, seeing as I do believe in intelligent life outside Earth, that does actually worry me a little. :eusa_doh:

 

[missjo]

Well, seeing as I do believe in intelligent life outside Earth, that does actually worry me a little. :eusa_doh:

Same here!
But to be honest... there isnt much in all the broadcasting since that would give aliens a very positive view on us

There is a movie called 'Contact' that actually shows this!
The Aliens not only receive the nazi broadcasts... to make contact with earth they send them back.
So the first message from outer space is Hitler having one of his fits
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118884/

PS; here you can see some of those first broadcasts;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEYfl-X2Jcc

Anyway, back to the subject

 

[Tomasso]

Looks like jamespowers' style.

I ain't gonna look sloppy. Heavy starch it is. A load of shirts just went into the cleaners for the heavy starch treatment. Ahhhhhhhhhh starch. Feel the stiff goodness. MMMMMMM.....

Regards,

J

 

[missjo]

why is the invisible man sitting on your ironing board?
And why isnt he wearing any pants??

 

[scotrace]

Is it better to just close the the second to top button? I always closed the top and middle ones when hanging.

I don't think it really matters - I do the second one because I don't want to fuss with the top one.

 

[scotrace]

Truth be told, that shirt standing on its own was too heavy for this treatment. It came out SO stiff it's probably unwearable.

 

[jamespowers]

Truth be told, that shirt standing on its own was too heavy for this treatment. It came out SO stiff it's probably unwearable.

There is no such thing. You do need to get out the wrinkles though. I have no idea how it is done. I just care about results. Kind of like sausage making---with ketchup.
Geez, I just found this thread. I am sure there are other things I need to answer too. :eusa_doh:

Regards,

J