Easy Blocking With Spray Starch Tutorial ~ Knit and Crochet Ever After

Have you ever made a small lacy motif like a snowflake or doily and was dissapointed at how misshapen it turned out? These types of small projects need special blocking.

Wet blocking might pull it into shape, but it’s “lacy-ness” can benefit from starching.

There are three types of starching: spray starch, liquid starch and sugar starch. This tutorial will show you how to do the easiest — spray starching.

This tutorial is part of my Motif of the Month December 2013: Snowflake Motif video. I’ve excerpted it below so you can watch just the part about blocking or check out the photo tutorial in this post.

What you’ll need:

Project that needs to be blocked
Spray Starch (found on the laundry detergent aisle)
Blocking Boards (substitute with an ironing board or folded towel)
Rust free blocking pins (sewing pins work great)

Step One

Get the project that needs blocking.

Step Two

Start by pinning the center of the project.

This will keep your project from moving around as you pin the edges.

Step Three

Pin the points of your project out.

Take your time to pin them exactly how you want them to look. Once sprayed you will have to wash the project to start over.

Step Four

Keep pinning every single spot that you want to be highlighted once it is blocked. You will use up tons of pins so keep lots on hand.

Look how many pins I used for the small snowflake.

Step Five

Get your spray starch.

I like the "heavy" spray starch. You can use less. — I like the “heavy” spray starch. You can use less.

Step Six

Start spraying.

This part is messy so be sure to use a towel under anything you don't want sprayed. — This part is messy so be sure to use a towel under anything you don’t want sprayed.

Step Seven

Keep spraying.

Make sure it is completely soaked, so it gets super stiff.

Step Eight

Let it dry completely. Unpin and enjoy!

Look how much more pointy my snowflake is now, and not floppy at all.

What is your favorite way to block with starch? Let us know below. And if you prefer to watch the full video on spray blocking you can check out right here.

6 Comments

V

May 19, 2017 at 8:37 am Reply

Can a the project be washed after starching? Will the starch wash off?
- Deja Jetmir
  
  May 19, 2017 at 10:46 am Reply
  
  YOu can wash it, but it will need to be restarched after. 🙂
Andrie Kriticou

June 2, 2015 at 6:21 am Reply

Thank you so much for this information. I am crocheting and I use glue dilluted with water until now but I am not very pleased with the result. Where can I get this spray because I looked and it does not say heavy starch is mostly for ironing are there any other brands you can suggest?

Thank you
- Deja Jetmir
  
  June 2, 2015 at 6:25 am Reply
  
  You can also use liquid starch, if you can’t find the spray kind. I believe the brand is called Sta-Flo.
Adeline

July 19, 2014 at 7:08 am Reply

Does this work for acrylic projects?
- crocheteverafter
  
  July 19, 2014 at 8:39 am Reply
  
  Sure will, anything you need stiff, the spray starch will work on. 🙂