Block-n-Roll

Blocking is another one of those things that knitters love to hate. I mean - you've spent a zillion hours knitting up something incredible, you finally bind off, seam up, and just want to throw on that masterpiece and show it off to all your friends.  I get it, I've been there.  But if you really want your pieces to shine, step back and Block On, man! (insert hand gesture and air guitar here). Blocking is a simple way to make your finished products look even more professional and polished.  Plus, it helps you to shape individual pieces so that seaming is a cinch and your fit is fab.

To put is simply, blocking is your way of telling those stitches who's boss.  By wetting or steaming your work after it has been pinned into shape, it dries in the form it is destined to take.  This makes your stitches line up like little soldiers and your finished pieces lay flat (hence the cinchy seaming). Some fiber types have more memory than others, and some are more fragile when wet.  Because of this, there are several different ways to block so that you don't hurt anyone - it's a bit of tough love.  I'll tell you about my favorite way to block, and  you can check out this great article on knitty for more info on blocking specific types of yarn.

Before you start, you'll need some tools which you probably already have at home:

• a spray bottle (for damp blocking)
• a towel that you won't need to use for a few hours
• an iron with a steam setting (for steam blocking)
• pins (rust-proof pins are best, but I use whatever I have in my sewing stash and they work just fine)
• measuring tape or ruler

Blocking can be done on an ironing board (for small pieces), on a sofa cushion, on your bed, or on a blocking board which you can easily make yourself by covering a piece of plywood with a layer of batting covered with fabric that has been secured to the back.  You are basically looking for a soft surface that you can pin on to.  Or, if you are pinning to your towel, you want to lay the towel onto a surface that can withstand the occasional pin prick.  I usually block onto a towel that is laying on my guest bed (making sure to keep any curious animals out for the duration of the block).

If you are knittng a garment such as a sweater, there is typically a blueprint-like picture in the pattern which shows you the finished dimensions of each piece.  Find the picture that matches the size that you made, and gently stretch and pin each piece to your blocking surface (tough love, remember?), according to the recommended dimensions.  Here are some pictures from when I blocked Presto Chango:

  

Once every piece is pinned into place, you want to secure the yarn's memory by wetting or steaming so when it is dry and unpinned a few hours later, it remembers the shape.  I do this by spritzing all pieces until damp with a spray bottle filled with water.  Alternatively, you can hover an iron on the "steam" setting over the pieces, or dampen a towel, put it over your pieces, and warm iron over it.  When the pieces are dry, unpin, seam, and you're done!  It's SO worth it.  Seriously.

Jessica Fenlon Thomas' article on knitty describes a really cool way to use blocking to create drape - check it out and give it a try!

xo.