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A Stiffening Experience!

© Lisa A. Hamblin

I recently embarked on a major thread project in which a stiffening agent was a must. My Sister-In-Law is getting married in a few days and I volunteered earlier this year to make two flower girl baskets. The basket pattern went really fast. I actually made an entire basket in two evenings. Then came the big dilemma.

How do I stiffen this basket!

I went to our local department store and purchased two bottles of a stiffening agent which I will purposely leave nameless. I proceeded to discuss with my Mother-In-Law forms available for the stiffening project. She had a bowl that was the perfect form. After she added a bit of foam and plastic wrap to round out the bottom of the bowl I thought I was well on my way to completing the task. I took the bowl, positioned one of the baskets over the bottom side and proceeded to shape and position the basket in hopes of achieving the desired effect. This took quite some time since the basket pattern is a delicate design that implements numerous chain and picot stitches. Once I had the basket shaped I began spraying on the stiffener. The basket appeared to look ok but as time went on and the spray stiffener began to dry the basket began to look yellow. On top of that, after the basket was completely dry and I removed it from the form and turned it upright it still was not as stiff as I wanted it to be. Being a bit aggravated, my next question was:

Now what do I do? It is nearing the day of the wedding. What if I don’t manage to stiffen the baskets in time?

Well, I am the type of person who never gives up without a fight so I went to the internet in search of the old fashion sugar and water stiffening recipes. I poured 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of water into a sauce pan and put it on low heat. (Just like making candy, yum!) I let the mixture come to a very low boil and all of the sugar was dissolved leaving the mixture very clear. I turned off the heat and allowed the mixture to cool until I could touch it. I dipped the second basket into the mixture and allowed it to absorb the liquid. Then I squeezed out the excess and began my long and arduous shaping process for the second time. Now for the long wait! I tried speeding up the drying time with a hair dryer but tired quickly of it and decided to let it sit overnight.

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