There is a great difference in the quality of starch. It is but labor lost to make use of that which is not good. There is so much difference in the quantity of gluten in this article, that no precise measure can be given. Those who are least experienced will soon learn the proportion needed for any given number of articles.

A small sauce-pan or porringer should be kept for boiling starch, and used for nothing else. Boil the water in the porringer, wet the starch smooth in a little cold water, and pour it in slowly, stirring steadily till it has become of equal thickness. Leave it to boil moderately eight or ten minutes. If starch is pure, and well made, it need not be strained. The leg of a fine cotton stocking makes a very good strainer.

How To Make Flour Starch

Wet white flour smooth in cold water, and pour it into boiling water, just like the fine starch. Some people do not boil it; others think dresses retain the stiffness longer if it is boiled. It should be so made as to have no lumps in it, and if it is not, it should be strained through a fine colander. Allow a table-spoonful of flour, and nearly three pints of water for a dress. If there are several dresses and skirts to be dipped, divide the starch into two or three parcels, because the first article put into it will take too large a proportion of the stiffness, and leave what remains too thin for the rest. Reserve those which need least stiffness to be starched last.

How To Make And Use Cold Starch

Put a tablespoonful of best fine starch to a pint of cold water. Stir till dissolved; stir thoroughly also before dipping each article, because the starch settles rapidly. Squeeze the articles, and lay them in dry cloths. They may be ironed in ten or fifteen minutes, but should not be allowed to remain in the cloths longer, as they will not iron well. Lay a thin cloth upon them when you pass the iron over the first time. The irons should be quite hot. Use more starch if you want it very stiff, and not so much if you wish it otherwise. This mode of starching is preferred by many persons to the use of boiled starch. It is certainly very convenient; and linen looks nicely starched thus.