I’m a big fan of Mary Ellen’s Best Press because it does a great job of getting out wrinkles and smoothing fabric without leaving flakes like starch can do. I recently tried Flatter and found that it works just as well.
I’m also a fan of Pinterest and recently found a recipe for “Quilter’s Moonshine” ironing spray. The original post, by Joanne Hubbard, gives the recipe here. So off I went to the liquor store to buy the cheapest vodka I could find. I guess if your quilt isn’t turning out you can drink your ironing spray 😀
Another ingredient in the Quilter’s Moonshine is liquid starch, so I went looking for that, as well. Not, of course, at the liquor store. The only starch I’ve seen in years was in a pressurized spray can, but sure enough, there was actual liquid starch in a spray bottle at the grocery store. They also had powdered starch that had to be mixed with water, but I passed on that.
To my surprise, I found another ironing spray
right there on the shelf in the grocery store! I’ve tried it now and it works really well. My only objection is that it has a strong scent. Not unpleasant, but not something I really want to smell all day, either.
Finally the ingredients were assembled! The recipe makes over a gallon, so I cut it in half. I used a funnel to get it into the best empty spray bottles I found around the house, and voila! Ironing spray! It worked just fine and the faint scent was not a problem.
So check out the link to Joanne Hubbard’s blog and give it a try!
Zippy Quilts 
Anything with vodka in it gets my attention. Sew many days when things aren’t going well in the sewing studio….how wonderful it would be to have just have a quick nip of the spray bottle …just kidding, but seriously! I often think about making homemade spray starch and will follow the link now that someone has confirmed it works.
I am pleased with the spray. I still love Best Press, but I’m pretty sure this is less expensive.
Thanks for this informative post. I’m a Best Press fan, but the quilters moonshine sounds very interesting!🙃 Downy does seem to have a strong scent on all their products.
Thanks! Glad to hear I’m not the only one who thinks the smell is strong.
Unscented is the way for me! I rarely use starch or sizing, so it takes a very long time to use up a container of it. Next time, perhaps I’ll go the cheap-vodka route. Thanks for sharing.
My vodka stuff has a very faint scent from the starch, so it isn’t as unscented as the unscented Best Press, bu it’s close enough for me 🙂
Ha! No drinking your ironing spray! Thanks for the laugh and the interesting post on ironing spray!
Actually, I prefer white wine anyway 😁
I use a lot of starch. I don’t mind the flaking as I wash any quilt before gifting. I make my own starch using corn starch and water. I also buy Faultless heavy starch if I find it at my local salvage store. However, I I’m too cheap to buy the ‘specialty’ stuff. I’m also a big fan of using the teflon pressing sheets that are so abundant now. They do a great job of protecting fabric from iron and iron from fabric. Also, they prevent shine and reduce iron drag on heavily biased blocks. I’ve seen the vodka spray, but I cannot bring myself to spray vodka on my fabric.
The vodka spray works fine, but no better than plain star h or Best Press, and I’m not sure it’s any less expensive when everything’s figured in.