The gist of blocking your knits

No matter what you knit, blocking is simply essential! You may skip this step (no one can stop you:)) but look – you’ve just spent plenty of hours working by hand on something unique, you devoted lots of attention and love to it and skipping the very last step, which takes much less time than finishing your project and definitely makes your knitwear shine, seems pointless. Let me guide you and explain in short what blocking really is and why it is so important!

Blocking, like ironing when sewing, it is not just a whim of perfectionists. It is simply necessary to “settle down” your handmade garment and bring out all its real beauty.

But what blocking really is? It is not only about pinning your project to the mat and opening the stitch patterns. Even simple wash counts as a blocking. Water allows stitches to smooth and even out, and gives the thread a chance to bloom and relax. It is the final step of knitting – the time you finally know what the real shape and look of your garment is.

Even though steam may be helpful I do not think that this way of blocking should ever replace wet blocking. In my opinion each knitwear must be properly soaked and dried at its own pace at least for the first time. And here’s why!

Soaking knitwear in water for an appropriate amount of time (in my case around 20 minutes) allows the thread to absorb enough moisture to get relaxed and slightly move around, letting the stitches reach their optimal size and arrangement, achieving even and proportional dimensions.
Wet stitches are also very easy to re-shape, so when blocking on a mat, you have control over some aspects, like length or width. The stitches are pliable and you can manipulate them to some extent.
Long drying is also very beneficial! It allows the stitches to remember their shape and settle down for good. Once they are fully dried, it’s difficult to change their size or placement – such stitch will always return to its previous shape, which it remembers from blocking. Thread memory is unbelievable! You may notice it when frogging an old sweater. The thread looks like instant noodles!

To some extent, blocking with iron steam is similar – it allows you to set the stitches and smooth their surfaces. Unfortunately, it omits a very important point – rearranging the stitches to achieve their optimal size. Steam only “flattens” what was done, and as we all know, stitches taken straight from the needles are almost never the perfect size or shape. So if your stitches are uneven or wonky, using steam will only reaffirm their irregular size and shape.

I am not saying that you need to block your knitwear every single time you wash it. I do not do this either! Most of my projects remember their shape for a very long time, and after the first blocking, all they need is soaking and being arranged flat on the mat, without using a single pin.

It means that steam may be your really good friend, but you should never replace the first wet blocking if you wish to get perfectly even stitches and highlighted patterns.

The rules I personally follow when blocking:

Always wash your finished project
Use pins when blocking lace or other intricate patterns, as well as scalloped or picot (in general: decorative) edges. Don’t be afraid to fully open the lace or shape the edges.
Most of the time, projects made of simple stitches do not require pinning. You may use them to get the desired measurements if it is something you care about.
Do not hesitate to give your project the desired shape. You may be surprised how easily you can lengthen or widen your finished project during blocking.
Use as many pins as possible when shaping the straight edges.
Rearrange the pins on the fly if necessary.
Measure lengths and widths to make sure you block your project symmetrically.
Let your projects fully dry before taking it off the mat.
When working with summer yarn (cotton, silk, linen) do not leave any detergent on them – always rinse them carefully after soaking.
Summer fibers do not block as easily as wool, which has an excellent memory! Keep in mind that summer knitwear may slightly change their size after wearing.
Blocking is just like magic! You have so much power here. Use it however you like to get the most beautiful result!

These general rules apply to most knitting projects. Remember to always consider what your project requires from blocking, what features you want to emphasize the most and how to block it to achieve it.

Don’t take shortcuts – careful blocking always pays off.