Blocking Knitting

If you've ever completed a knitting project and ended up with something just a little lumpier than you had imagined it might be good to consider blocking your knitting. Since you are using round thread and round needles it is virtually impossible to create something that is perfectly square and you typically end up with something that is more trapezoid instead. Blocking your knitting will help you to reshape your piece back into straight lines.

Blocking uses stretching and moisture to help shape a finish piece in order to match another one of the same size or just get a piece of knitting squared up to make the rows look even and straight. You will also generally block anything knitted from lace to showcase all of the holes and patterns you worked so hard to create.

All of the methods of blocking knitting have one thing in common and that is a little bit of water. How much water is entirely dependent on the type of yarn that you have used. If you are working with man made fibers or wool blends that include man-made fibers wet blocking can be used. Dampen (not soak) the piece of knitting and gently stretch until the desired shape is reached and then leave to dry.

For natural fibers, such as wool and cotton, steam blocking is a better option than wet blocking. You can steam first and pin afterwards, or you can pin the piece into the desired shape and then steam. The best method is to wet another piece of fabric or paper, and then run a hot iron over the fabric or paper without pressing until it is dry. This will steam the water gently into the knitting.

Spray blocking is by far the most gentle process and should be used for very delicate fibers like Kashmir or silk. It is also a good method to use for any type of yarn where you are not quite sure exactly what it's made of. Pin the piece in place and mist very lightly with a spray bottle and then allow to dry.

You can use blocking boards and T. pins to give you the right sort of surface and pins to use to help you align your knitting. But for most people, and projects, you might find that they are unnecessary and you will be able to block your fabrics with quite ordinary pins and some other flat surface to pin the knitting to. But regardless of which tools do you use you are sure to find that blocking is very easy to do and will give your knitting a much cleaner finished look.