How do you starch a doily?

Check the laundry aisle at your grocery store for liquid starch. Starch comes in different forms including a spray form, but the liquid is easiest to use. For a very stiff doily, soak it in undiluted liquid starch. For less crisp, water down the starch first. When the starch has soaked through the doily, carefully lay it out on a flat surface and tweak it until it looks nice. Then allow to dry in place. You can get prettier picots if you use a piece of Styrofoam as your backing and use sewing pins to pin it in place.