Hi . I’m Norwegian and have been knitting for over 50 years, all kind of things. And my mother, grandmothers and aunts were knitting. But I had never heard about blocking till some years ago when I started watching English/ American knitting videos on RUclips. And we usually don’t wash a project when finished. But we do steam stockinet knitting. We lay the garment flat, cover it with a wet/damp cloth and hold a hot iron on one spot for 2-3 seconds. Then move the iron to another spot. Never do this to cables, areas with Perl/knit etc, only stockinet stitches. This makes wonders to the stitches, especially far island knitting. You can do this to your socks in stead of using that wire thing.
@@NerdyKnitting I discussed washing finished garments with my sister yesterday. She said she always does it because the yarn can actually be dirty, there can be particles of oil or other stuff from the mill. So no I will start washing new garments. As we say here: “You learn your whole life”. That’s good.
Just a little info about steaming acrylic: I have found it safe to position the knitting, cover it with 2 layers of cotton, keep the steam iron an inch above the cotton, remove the cotton protection and hand tap the knitting. It works for me.
My mother knit many garments in 50's and 60's . I still wear a sweater knit in 1955. She sent every one to the dry cleaner with size info and they came back perfect. Never heard of blocking. Knit it sent to the cleaners. Done
Thank you Tonia. I like how in-depth your vids are. Here are two more ways to wash / refresh your knitted stuff: 1: lay it flat on a drying rack in the mist (not in smog, of course) and 2: lay it flat on virgin snow. You'll want to turn it after a few hours. After any of these methods, lay flat to dry.
This was really very informative. I have always wondered what I’m trying to accomplish with blocking. I knew it was supposed to even out stitches, but I didn’t realize that making sure the project had really absorbed the water was what caused the stitches to become more even. Also, learning what needs to be pinned and what doesn’t was great information. Thank you!
I crochet but I figured it's all still wool. My question is I'm new at crocheting and made slippers and hats for my kids. The problem is that they wore the items only once and the hat and slippers stretched. What can I do so my items don't stretch. It was very disappointing to see this happen. 😢
I wonder, to avoid the wavy pinned edges, if lace rods placed inside a garment (then obviously pinned in place) would help keep that smooth and straight.
Would a bouse look good in sock yarn? I made a swatch with sock yarn to see if it would look good in a blouse and blocked it. It kept rolling up, I didn't pin it down but the next day it was flat. The pattern Im using calls for wool, cashmere, and polyester, I think. Pretty colors but I wasn't sure it would hang right. I'm asking because I watched this video.
Some sock yarns tend to grow so measuring your swatch before and after blocking is a good idea to see if your yarn will do that. And a pattern with seams is a good idea - to add some structure to the yarn. But other than those considerations, sock yarn works just fine for sweaters and tops.
Really enjoyed this video! My question: I just finished a “throw”, white acrylic yarn, with a diamond pattern and bobbles at every point. Now, how should I block it? The bobbled are what purples me! I’m thinking pin it, and spray it? What would you do?
I would wash according to the care instructions on a gentle cycle (and maybe give it a bit of a soak in the washer before running the full cycle). Lay flat to dry. If there are any parts that need to be blocked flat or opened up you could very lightly steam it (but really carefully!).
Great video, Tonia. Thanks for emphasizing the importance of the soak for acrylic. Somehow that didn’t fully register when I watched your video on blocking acrylic knits.
I think I explained it a bit better this time - when my brain made the correlation between acrylic being water resistant and letting it soak it finally clicked! 😁
Hi . I’m Norwegian and have been knitting for over 50 years, all kind of things. And my mother, grandmothers and aunts were knitting. But I had never heard about blocking till some years ago when I started watching English/ American knitting videos on RUclips. And we usually don’t wash a project when finished. But we do steam stockinet knitting. We lay the garment flat, cover it with a wet/damp cloth and hold a hot iron on one spot for 2-3 seconds. Then move the iron to another spot. Never do this to cables, areas with Perl/knit etc, only stockinet stitches. This makes wonders to the stitches, especially far island
knitting.
You can do this to your socks in stead of using that wire thing.
Thanks for sharing the info on how you care for your finished garments!
@@NerdyKnitting I discussed washing finished garments with my sister yesterday. She said she always does it because the yarn can actually be dirty, there can be particles of oil or other stuff from the mill. So no I will start washing new garments. As we say here: “You learn your whole life”. That’s good.
Thanks for the advice about cables, etc!
Just a little info about steaming acrylic: I have found it safe to position the knitting, cover it with 2 layers of cotton, keep the steam iron an inch above the cotton, remove the cotton protection and hand tap the knitting. It works for me.
Many thanks Tonya. I realise now that I was being much too cautious with my blocking. I’ll be more confident in future. Best wishes.
You're welcome! I'm glad it was helpful.
I just started level one of the MHK. Your video helps while I researching for the blocking report.
Good luck with Level 1!
Thanks for the tip about putting wool wash in a spray bottle. Good idea
Glad it was helpful!
My mother knit many garments in 50's and 60's . I still wear a sweater knit in 1955. She sent every one to the dry cleaner with size info and they came back perfect. Never heard of blocking. Knit it sent to the cleaners. Done
Thank you Tonia. I like how in-depth your vids are. Here are two more ways to wash / refresh your knitted stuff: 1: lay it flat on a drying rack in the mist (not in smog, of course) and 2: lay it flat on virgin snow. You'll want to turn it after a few hours. After any of these methods, lay flat to dry.
Thank you for sharing those ideas! I love the idea of refreshing sweaters outside.
This was really very informative. I have always wondered what I’m trying to accomplish with blocking. I knew it was supposed to even out stitches, but I didn’t realize that making sure the project had really absorbed the water was what caused the stitches to become more even. Also, learning what needs to be pinned and what doesn’t was great information. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
I crochet but I figured it's all still wool. My question is I'm new at crocheting and made slippers and hats for my kids. The problem is that they wore the items only once and the hat and slippers stretched. What can I do so my items don't stretch. It was very disappointing to see this happen. 😢
This video came out just in time. I'm getting ready to block my very 1st shawl & it has laces. Thank you so much 💓
Good timing!
Thank you. I didn’t know the various methods
Glad it was helpful!
I wonder, to avoid the wavy pinned edges, if lace rods placed inside a garment (then obviously pinned in place) would help keep that smooth and straight.
Yes, those work well for keeping edges straight!
Me again. Should I soak it? Kind of afraid it would stretch too much. The yarn is bulky & I used #15 circular needles.
Would a bouse look good in sock yarn? I made a swatch with sock yarn to see if it would look good in a blouse and blocked it. It kept rolling up, I didn't pin it down but the next day it was flat. The pattern Im using calls for wool, cashmere, and polyester, I think. Pretty colors but I wasn't sure it would hang right. I'm asking because I watched this video.
Sorry, thats blouse.
Some sock yarns tend to grow so measuring your swatch before and after blocking is a good idea to see if your yarn will do that. And a pattern with seams is a good idea - to add some structure to the yarn. But other than those considerations, sock yarn works just fine for sweaters and tops.
Really enjoyed this video! My question: I just finished a “throw”, white acrylic yarn, with a diamond pattern and bobbles at every point. Now, how should I block it? The bobbled are what purples me! I’m thinking pin it, and spray it? What would you do?
I would wash according to the care instructions on a gentle cycle (and maybe give it a bit of a soak in the washer before running the full cycle). Lay flat to dry. If there are any parts that need to be blocked flat or opened up you could very lightly steam it (but really carefully!).
What is dk.is it dubbel knitting x
Yes!
@@NerdyKnitting .is it two yarn s together knitting dk.
No. DK is just a weight of yarn.
Great video, Tonia. Thanks for emphasizing the importance of the soak for acrylic. Somehow that didn’t fully register when I watched your video on blocking acrylic knits.
I think I explained it a bit better this time - when my brain made the correlation between acrylic being water resistant and letting it soak it finally clicked! 😁
Hi from me not much knitting