Have you ever run out of spray starch in the middle of your project? Did you know you can make spray starch, just like your Grandma did, from items you already have sitting in your pantry? It's non-toxic, cheap, and easy to make. All you need are a few pantry items, water, a whisk, and a spray bottle. You can make different spray starches from essential kitchen items like cornstarch, potato, flour, vinegar, white glue, vodka, and white rice. Toss in a few drops of essential oils, like lemon, lavender, or orange for that extra something special.
Here are a few recipes for homemade spray starch. I haven't tested all of these myself, but I've included the source information so you can read more about the process. I've also made a PDF of all the recipes, in one place, so you can print these out and save them.
Cornstarch is the one that comes up most frequently when looking for recipes for homemade spray starches.
This one is interesting. But unless you're really ambitious, you might want to stick with mashing your potatoes.
This is probably one of the earliest recipes for spray starch, since flour was also used to make paste.
This recipe is very similar to the cornstarch basic starch, but adding vinegar to the mix cuts down on the possibility of mold.
School’s almost out! What are you going to do with all that extra school glue? Make spray starch of course.
Here's a recipe for spray starch using inexpensive vodka which is supposed to produce a light crisp finish. Apparently the potatoes used to make vodka makes an effective starch.
Here’s one using white rice if you already drank the vodka and used the vinegar to make pickles :-)
Use and Storage of Homemade Spray Starch
Love to Know says use as you would any store-bought starch. Follow the recommendations on your iron for heating. Clean your iron regularly. Starch can build up after a while. Store in a cool, dry place for a few months or in your refrigerator. Discard if you notice any discoloration
Have you ever made your own spray starch? What did you use? How did it work out for you? Do you have a recipe that’s not included here?
Who knew there are so many ways to make spray starch? Now you know!
Happy Sunday, everyone!
Krista
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