How to make your own sugar starch

To make the starch from sugar syrup, measure 1 part of sugar and 2 parts of water. For example, mix 7 spoonfuls of sugar with 14 spoonfuls of water. I used this amount for starching my crocheted summer hat Fiscardo. The hat is heavily starch with this proportion. For even stiffer starching mix sugar and water in the proportion 1:1. In my works starch is necessary for making dolls, that is for crowns and wings of my 2 fairies  Yannah and Sylphide.

This sugar starch shouldn’t be cooked but only dissolve sugar in water. If you cook it, it will turn yellow and ruin your crocheted work. So, once you’ve measured the above mentioned proportion of sugar and water, stir the liquid well and leave it aside for sugar to melt. It takes 60-90 minutes for sugar to dissolve in water completely. During that time, make sure you stir the liquid occasionally. Sugar is dissolved when there are no solid grains of it in the water and when water is clear. Then you can start starching.

The Starching Process

You can starch your crocheted item in 2 ways:

1. Starch smaller pieces by spraying the sugar starch with a sprinkler.
2. For bigger items, such as doilies and hats, it’s better to dip the crocheted piece in the sugar syrup. This means that you will need a larger amount of starch.

Drying The Starched Object

When your crocheted item is completely covered in starch, squeeze it just a little to remove excess water, and then form it in the desired shape. If you are starching a doily or table runner/tablecloth, leave the wet piece on a flat surface to dry. In the case of a hat, crown or another 3-dimensional piece, use a mould of the appropriate size. For my Fiscardo hat for example, I used a flower pot which I flipped upside down and put on a hat on it. The hat brim must lay on a flat surface below the pot.

Leave your formed item to dry in shade, away from direct sunlight, for at least 24 hours. If necessary, longer. The starched piece is completely dry when you can’t feel sticky trace of sugar syrup on your fingers when you touch it, and also when it is very firm.