Every year I crochet a number of Christmas ornaments to sell at an event held by a local club that I belong to. This year I made 36 crocheted snowflakes and 6 crocheted tea light holders.

Since these ornaments are made with crochet cotton thread, they need to be “stiffened” so that they hold their shape. In the past, I used a fabric stiffener I bought at JoAnn’s. Now, this stiffener is somewhat expensive. It’s priced at around $10 for a 16 oz bottle – that’s the best price I found online when I searched this morning. Sixteen ounces would be enough for this batch of ornaments – but using this product significantly adds to the cost of making these items. I have also tried using a spray starch to stiffen crocheted items, but it really didn’t give me the amount of stiffness needed for the ornaments.

A better solution is to make my own using cornstarch. Yes, you can use the cornstarch you have in your kitchen cabinet to make a solution of stiffener that works well on cotton crocheted items. Cornstarch costs roughly 15 cents per tablespoon, so it is cheaper to use.

Homemade Stiffener

Here’s the formula: Use 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to 1 cup of water. Whisk the cornstarch in the water to blend it well and bring the solution to a boil while whisking continuously. Then set it aside and let it cool. Once it has cooled, you can dip each item in the solution and soak it a bit – then squeeze out the excess and pin the item to shape. Let it dry thoroughly.