Tags
art, blocking, craft, crafting, design, experimentation, finishing techniques, inspiration, knitting, process
Hello All!
While I was working on my most recent scarf, I knew I was going to need to block the item…I have had some luck and some not-so-much-luck with blocking in the past, and so I decided to come up with a make-shift sort of blocking method, that i have found works fairly well, and thought i would share it with everyone!
I decided to use an iron and wet towels and or cloths to block with! Blocking mats, I have found, are very expensive…at least the mats i like, so I decided to whip out my ironing board, a large dry bath towel, and a couple of neutral color unused dishcloths.
Be VERY CAREFUL with the dishcloth, or towel you choose to wet to work in this manner, because the color could bleed! I suggest testing a spot of the cloth/towel, or using an old towel that has been washed and you know for sure will not bleed when wet.
Then set your iron on one of the lowest heat settings—you will most likely need to experiment with your heat settings on your own iron. I usually set it for the same material my garment is made from, and possibly lower. Especially when working with hand knits, it’s important to treat them a little more carefully, I feel.
Once your iron is heated, lay out your bath towel, I usually like to keep it folded in half so that it is thicker. Then lay your knitted garment down on top of this towel, and lastly, wet your cloth or towels to make them damp, ring them out, so that they are not dripping wet, but have a good amount of dampness to them, and lay them on top of your knitted piece—now you are ready to start ironing!
I usually run my iron over the wetted towel/cloths and start to steam the garment. The wet towels/cloths help to one, keep your garment from accidentally getting burned from the iron, and two, make the garment damp, but not saturated like you do when you block in a more traditional manner. This dampness allows you to not have to ring out the garment once it has been wetted, which I always felt could stretch the garment in a not-so-nice manner.
Once you finish the front side, turn the garment over, and do the same thing to the backside of the piece. I usually have to repeat this process a couple times or so until i have it spread out, and shaped the way I want.
When you are done, you can either pin the damp garment to a dry bath towel, or you can fold it in half if it’s not too damp, and then lay it flat. Once it dries, it should not curl like it did before you blocked the piece!
I love the fact that you can use what you have readily available to you in your home and not have to buy extra expensive products to get similar or the same results!
I have not tried this process yet with thicker knitted garments, but once i do i will post the results and the process! And if anyone else tries this, I would love to hear your feedback and know how it worked for you!
Thanks for reading my post, I hope it helped, and have a great day!
Best,
~Abby Marie