Block, v. [blŏk] To shape, mold, or form with or on a block
Oh dear. I’m going to
sound like a broken record this month! I
am once again going to extol the virtues of blocking your project pieces before
sewing seams or knitting edges. I can’t
stress enough how professional your finished project will be if you just block! We’ve all finished the knitting only to have
something like this to deal with … curled edges and skewed pieces.
First, let’s talk about fibres. Animal and plant fibres respond best to
blocking. This includes wool, alpaca,
bamboo, corn, silk, cashmere, etc. And
then, there are those man-made fibres … the acrylics. Acrylic yarn is sometimes called the memory
yarn because it always goes back to shape after being washed and dried. But that doesn’t mean you can’t manipulate
that “shape” at this stage of your project.
Whether you are working with animal, plant
or man-made fibre, the first step of blocking is washing the knitted fabric …
BY HAND!! NOT IN A WASHING
MACHINE!! I use a handwash detergent
called “Soak” which you can buy in
almost any lingerie department. A small
amount of this in a sink full of water is all you need to get out the manufacturer’s
sizing and oils from your hands, making the fabric ready for blocking.
I fill a small sink about halfway with water and put ½-capful
of Soak in the water. I lay the knitting in the water and gently
push it to the bottom of the sink with open flat palms repeatedly. The idea is to gently push water through the
fabric without wringing or twisting.
Drain the sink and fill with clean cool water and again push water
through the fabric to rinse it. Drain
the sink again and push excess water out by pressing the fabric against the
bottom of the sink.
Transfer the wet knitted fabric to a large bath towel, being
careful not to stretch it. Lay it gently
on the towel allowing it to be slightly bunchy rather than spreading it out
smoothy. Next gently roll the towel to
absorb excess moisture. Leave it rolled
for 5-10 minutes.
Now comes the real work of blocking –
pinning it to a drying board. I
purchased a cardboard cutting board from a fabric shop and covered it with clear
MacTac (contact paper). Having the 1”
grid is very useful for pinning the pieces symmetrically and to the size noted
in your pattern. In my opinion, you can
never use too many pins!!
With the knitted fabric all pinned, now you wait. Where I live the air is so dry that I can
usually just let it dry overnight. You
may have to wait longer to make sure the pieces are COMPLETEY dry before
removing the pins. Then comes the
magic: the blocked pieces stay flat and
to size after you remove the pins. No
more curls!
The pictures here show the knitted piece of the pattern I’m
offering this month: a bolero for a baby
(using some of the Kool-Aid dyed yarn from a couple months ago). It is knit in one piece so taking the time to
block your work ensures that the left and right sides are symmetrical and will
sew together nicely. And of course, it
gives that perfectly finished look!
To block or not to block?
Definitely block!
