Today I will show you how I like to block my knitwear

Hello there…

How’s your knitting going? And you? 🙂

Everything here is good, I’m really looking forward to making nice things for you.

In today’s post I want to show you a video about how I usually block my knitwear, in particular with a cardigan. Here, I will also put the instructions that I usually add to my patterns for blocking in case you are more of a reader than a video watcher.

BLOCKING

Blocking is usually the magic moment when you finish the garment, where the tension has become more equal, and you can make some modifications of the final measurements, shaping the shawls, etc…

Sometimes, it’s recommended to block the guides before sewing. Depending on the composition and technical specifications of the fiber you’re weaving, the process will be one or the other.

If your fiber is at least 50% natural, you can proceed as follows:

1.- Note the measurements of the garment before blocking.

2.- Soak the garment in cold or warm water (depending on the fiber manufacturer’s specifications) with a little detergent which has been specially formulated for the fiber.

3.- Press gently to remove the air bubbles and let it soak for about 20 minutes (no more, this is IMPORTANT).

4.- Empty the water and refill the container to rinse, without letting the tap water fall directly on the garment. There are special soaps on the market for wool that do not need rinsing, so you could skip this step.

5.- Squeeze WITHOUT TWISTING to remove excess water.

6.- Place the garment between two clean towels, roll it up (like a burrito) and then twist so that the garment releases as much water as possible.

7.- Place it and stretch it on a HORIZONTAL SURFACE, with the appropriate MEASUREMENTS, using the help, if necessary, of some blocking tools such as foam rubber sheets, cables, blockers, pins, etc… and let it dry completely.
In the case of synthetic fibers, you can give steam strokes with the iron always following the manufacturer’s technical specifications.

Well, I hope you find this helpful and I would love to read your responses in the comments and tell me how you do it, so we can all learn from each other.

A big hug and have a great weekend!

Juana 🙂