A crocheted piece can be completely finished – every yarn end woven in and the final stitch secured – and still lie on the table like a pancake. That is when stiffening comes to the rescue. It gives a doily, decoration or other crocheted item its shape and helps the lace pattern stand out properly.
There is no single correct method. Here are three options I have used myself: cold stiffening with potato starch, gelatine, and cooked potato-starch paste. The videos are short, and all four have English subtitles.
1. Cold stiffening with potato starch
This method takes a little more fussing, but its great advantage is that you do not have to wait forever for the piece to dry. And honestly, drying is usually the most tiresome part of the whole job. 😄
2. Stiffening with gelatine
Gelatine is another option when a crocheted piece needs a firmer shape. In the video, I briefly show how I do it.
3. Cooked potato-starch paste
I cook potato starch and water into a paste with the consistency of a thin pudding. There is little point in pretending that the recipe can be reduced to exact grams – the strength depends on how firm you want the finished piece to be. In other words, the good old “by feel”, which is sometimes the most accurate unit of measurement in handicrafts.
One more practical potato-starch example
The final short video shows another example of stiffening with potato starch and putting the finishing touches on doilies.
The best method depends on the piece and on how firm you want it to be. It is sensible to test the method on a small sample first – that saves you from becoming wise only after experimenting on the finished work. I have tried all three methods, and each of them has its place.