Fabric Starch: How to Make Homemade Starch for Clothes

I recently received questions about how to make starch. “My husband loves to have his shirts cleaned at the cleaners because he likes to have them heavy starched. Can you please tell me how to make a good starch I can put in the laundry at home? These cleaning bills are killing me.”

Another starch question: “Can I make laundry starch from cornstarch used for cooking?”

To make homemade laundry starch using the cornstarch that’s used for cooking, in a large bowl or pot, stir ½ cup cornstarch into 1 cup of cold water. Next, add boiling water: use 2 quarts or a heavy solution, 3 quarts for a medium solution, or 6 quarts for a lighter solution. Dip the clothing into the starch solution and hang until only slightly damp, then iron. Use the starch solution the same day you make it, and only treat enough shirts that you can reasonably wear in a few weeks. Shirts treated with homemade laundry starch should not be stored long term.