How to Block 100% Acrylic Yarn | The Best Way for Knit + Crochet
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- Опубликовано: 28 июл 2024
- Learn which blocking method works the best for 100% acrylic yarn whether you knit or crochet. I'll walk you through the experiment, show you the blocking methods I used and finally show you the results for blocking acrylic yarn.
Blocking Methods Covered:
- Spray blocking
- Wet blocking
- Steam blocking
- Hair dryer
- Washer and dryer
| RESOURCES |
My experiment is documented here (I conducted the experiment once before, but added updates after I did a second experiment for the video): sewhomey.com/the-best-way-to-...
| THE PLACES YOU CAN FIND ME |
Website: www.sewhomey.com
Ravelry: www.ravelry.com/people/sewhom...
Etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/SewHomeyDes...
Instagram: sew.homey
Timestamps
0:00 Intro
1:11 Reasons for Experiment
2:48 Setting up Experiment
4:00 Spray Blocking
4:29 Wet Blocking
5:21 Steam Blocking
6:02 Hair Dryer
6:53 Washer/Dryer
7:13 The Results!
I also saw online some article mentioning that if you can't steam with a garment steamer or an iron with a steam setting, you can just boil some water and hold your piece over the rising steam for a few minutes. Very clever workaround/life hack! :)
Makes sense that steaming was the most successful! Acrylic is plastic, so normal ways of blocking animal fibers don't work with it. It needs heat to make the acrylic fiber malleable. Because steam get really get into the stitches while the water is still freshly hot, it's why it works so well.
Yes, spot on! Very accurate with the results.
I appreciate your experiment so so much. I just finished a blanket made with acrylic yarn and the border was curling terribly. I was so sad. But steaming to the rescue! It worked beautifully! Thank you! Thank you!
This is the best video on blocking yet. The comparisons were very helpful, and the best methods were clear. Thank you!
Wow, thank you for your kind words! So glad you found it helpful 💛
Thank you for doing this experiment for us! I’m off to buy a steamer for my first acrylic granny square blanket!
That will be a good investment! Especially if you have a lot of granny squares to make!
Excellent demonstration / test of blocking techniques. Such a great help. Thank you. 🙏
Great video, very informative. Thank you for taking the time to experiment with each method!
Thank you!
Excellent, excellent, excellent! Thank you for all this creative work, on our behalf. This was so incredibly helpful and informative! You are a master. Thank you for making such a great video.
Wow! Thank you so much for this extensive video delving into different blocking methods. The researcher in me loved it :)
I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Exactly the info I needed! I’ve only done spray blocking and only on a few things. Now off to block a couple of previously unblocked shawl or two.
So glad I came across this video! Thanks so much for taking the time to make it to help us crocheters out😊!
I'm so glad you found value from this video. I'm always thinking about us crocheters!
Thanks for this! Just got put on to the concept of blocking and had now clue where to start! Very informative! Great video! Sending love!
Ohhh you’ll be glad you stumbled into it! Blocking can do wonders for projects. Thanks for the kind comment and glad it helped! 💛💛💛
Thank you so much for doing this! I recently started blocking acrylic crochet projects with steam but I wasn’t sure if wet was better for a sweater I’m knitting. This is the most informative and helpful video I’ve ever seen. The fact that you use swatches in both methods and multiple ways to block is so so so logical and informative. Seeing people block shawls when I need to block a sweater, or sweaters when I need to block granny squares isn’t helpful. Thank you for taking the time to conduct this experiment and for sharing your results!
The experiment was fun and informative to me as well. I learned a lot through it, and I'm so happy to share it with others. Thank you for leaving feedback! Let me know how you like the results of your sweater after its blocked :)
Wait do steam blocking requires wetting the swatch right??
@@elavillafuerte3549 yes, steam blocking lightly wets the project, but it dries pretty quickly and the heat relaxes the stitches a little more. But wet blocking is totally submerging and soaking your project so it takes longer to dry and the heating element is not as much of a factor. I was thinking of wet blocking the pieces of my sweater, but I’m using chunky acrylic yarn and I was worried about it felting and how long it would take to dry. And if the weight of the wet yarn would effect the way the fabric dries. And I was worried about the steam blocking, because I was afraid it would melt the acrylic. So this video helped me out a lot! Now I know squares will still curl after wet blocking. And steam blocking would be better to flatten curls and it won’t melt the yarn.
Excellent video, best I've seen! Thank you so much for being so through! Thank you so much
I really loved all of the info from this video. You did a great job, thanks for sharing your experiment with me.
So happy to share it with you! Thanks for your interest in the experiment 💛
Thanks for doing this experiment. Saves me so much time and energy. ❤
I really appreciate your scientific method, especially by including crochet swatches!
Thank you so much for doing this very informative video. You've answered all the questions that have crept up over time.
Happy to hear that!!
Amazing video! 🙂TYSM for all the time & effort you put into this! It’s so well done & really helpful. 👍🏻
Thank you 💛
So glad I found this video! You answered many of my blocking questions. Thank you for your time and effort!
Yay, so happy to hear that! If you ever have any other questions, let me know! Thanks for the comment!
I did steam my acrylic crocheted shawls a couple of time, it was like a miracle, lol
Opened them up beautifully ❤
Thank you for the wonderful video!
An exellently made video and 1000% helpful. Thanks so much!
Such a helpful video experiment, as I'm currently finding myself in this search. Thank you!
I love a good yarn nerd experiment! Very useful, thank you!
Yesss! Embracing the yarn nerdiness!
Thank you for this thorough comparison of blocking!
I hope you are able to apply the results to your own projects!
Thanks for all the comparisons!! Really helpful video
Thanks for your excellent experiment! Very thorough approach to find the best result.
Thanks and hope it was helpful to you!
Thank you for your clarity and all the explanations!
Glad it could be of use to you!
Wow!! This was prefect! What a great lesson. I've always steam blocked only because that's how my Nannie taught me but I'd never made a sweater so I was curious. My first sweater I steam blocked but I just made a second one and was wondering if I was doing this correctly. When I steam block I can actually watch the fiber relax and "quit while I'm ahead" so to speak. The steam makes the fiber soften so for sure if your heavy handed with the steam it's easy to see how you could ruin it. I actually get close and watch it relax and I don't go over it a second time. I also don't pat it down. I really appreciate the time you took to teach this valuable lesson!! Thank you!
I'm so glad you mentioned your process! I think it is so cool to watch the fibers relax as you steam block. It's like magic. Thanks so much for taking time to leave a comment! I've enjoyed reading your thoughts.
I greatly appreciate your scientific method approach 😊
Thanks :) Happy you enjoyed it and hope it was helpful!
Oh my god this was exactly what I was searching for! Thank you so much, you're amazing!!
Ohh that's awesome 💛💛 glad it was useful
Thank you so much for doing this video!! I appreciate your research and this is so helpful!
Glad it was helpful!!
Excellent video! Very thorough and well done!
Thank you! 💛
I was thinking the steam method was the best. I am going to try it out on my project. Thanks for the helpful information!
Great! I'm glad you found it helpful
I blocked for the first time years ago and steamed with my iron. It worked like a charm. I forgot how to do it and when I went on youtube, not many people mentioned steam. Thanks, your video helped me compare to steam vs. non-steam.
It is very interesting how the different blocking methods work. Glad you could compare!
@@SewHomey Thanks.
I really like the way you did this. Thank you for sharing
Thank you 💛💛 hope you found it useful 😄
Hi, new subscriber here. Thank you so much for going though this process for us. I am new to blocking due to learning how to make more detailed crochet decals. I was really confused about blocking but cannot express how informative your video was. Thank you so much.
Hi, thanks so much for subscribing! I'm glad that this video was able to help explain blocking. If you have any more questions, let me know! I know how confusing blocking seems at first.
Just came to comment: your blog post was so thorough & informative!! 🙌🏽
Glad it was helpful! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment on the video 💛
thanks for this! I can only knit with acrylics so i'm glad to know that i can still block my pieces and even things out
Wow, so informative!! I appreciate your video so much and sharing your results with us, and in a short concise manner. I really needed this to finish up a project that I'm finally completing after a whole year, needless to say I was a little nervous of wrecking it by blocking it incorrectly 😅
That's amazing! Congratulations, there is nothing like finishing up a project that you've worked hard on. I'm honored that this video was able to aid you in your research for blocking. I hope you found out that it's not something you have to fear :)
This was wonderful!!!! Thank you so much. Going to shop for a steamer now. How interesting!🥰 long time crocheter here from the good ol Pacific northwest 🌲🌲🌲
That’s great! Hope you get tons of use out of it! That seems so far away from Texas haha awesome to have you here :)
Thanks for this, sharing this video with my knitting group!
Oh how wonderful! I hope y’all get a good discussion about this topic.
THANK YOU for doing this comparison!! Im working on a 100% acrylic project and I was going to do my own comparison of wet vs steam blocking, but now I'm just going to go ahead and use the steam method! You just saved me a bunch of time 😂
Perfect! More time for other projects 😄
Thank you ❤ Steaming will work!
This is a great video. Thank you, you saved me so much time♥️ liked and subscribed.👏🏼
Awww thank you and welcome!
Thank you! This was VERY helpful.
Thank You very intersting I am making scarf's for the grands and have not worked with acrylic much, but will now thanks again
How sweet, I love that! They are lucky to have a grandma like you who makes things for them!!
Thank you for sharing this!! So helpful. I want to try the hairdryer method but wetting the piece with spray beforehand, I’ll come back with comments on it!
I like that idea! Please do. Let me know how it turns out!
Thanks for this! I appreciate the good data! 🙂
No problem!
Thank you! I am crocheting a baby blanket and a friend advised I block it to help with the "wonkiness" of the edges. I have never blocked before so this info is incredibly helpful for me. I will borrow my daughter's clothing steamer!
Thanks so much for sharing your experience! I love to hear about them. I hope that you learned the magic of blocking that the "wonkiness" worked its way out with the steam.
Very informative video .. thank you
This was soooo helpful! Thank you!
So glad!!
Thank you for such a thorough video! I've been knitting my first full cardigan and fretting about the best way to block it. This video is so helpful!
You're so welcome. I'm glad you found it helpful! I used to skip blocking altogether because I was scared... I've changed since then :) Best of luck to you!
I'm going to block for the first time and your video was priceless! Saved me so much time and frustration. Thank you!
Good luck with blocking! It seems scary at first, but you can't really mess it up.. Glad you found this useful! Thank you for sharing :)
@@SewHomey The blocking worked perfectly, I did the wet process. Thank you!!
@@YvonneB520 Love to hear that! Thanks for letting me know which method you tried! And so happy that it worked out for you!!!!
Thank you so much for this video😁❤️
omg so helpful. also- i LOVE i think its your fireplace stick thingies? the pineapples! my mom would be obsessed with them
LOL! Yes, that's exactly what those are... I'm obsessed with pineapples too :)
Thank you for doing this!
It was fun to share the experience. Glad you liked it and hope you found it useful!
Really good video, thanks for sharing
Thank you!
Very, very useful... thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Awesome thank you💜
Thank you, this is great info!
Glad it was helpful!
I use a steam generator iron, held a few inches above the pinned fabric. Works very well.
Yes, that works great as well! Thanks for sharing. For those that don't have a steamer, this is a great option too.
Awesome video! Thank you!
Thanks! Glad to hear you liked it 💛
Great video. Thank you!
Very kind! Thanks! 💛
Thank you for time stamps!
This is one of my favorite features... so glad you like it too!
I tried the wet and let dry method on a crochet granny square coat. It took too long to dry, to the point it started smelling musty. I had to wash it using delicate cycle and then spread it out to dry after spinning dry. Still didn’t give the results I was after. I agree with the steam iton method as I tested it on the pockets. They look fabulous!
Great Experiment 🧪☺️ Thank you for sharing! I wet block and turns out beautiful. Will try Steam blocking soon. I'm an avid crocheter and enjoy the "Finished project". Thumbs up to you 😊
Thank you! Definitely give it a try, I love steam blocking now because it doesn't take as much time to dry.
@@SewHomey exactly. My iron broke lol the "Steamer part" so deciding on a steamer or clothing iron. I'm not sure if you mentioned this, but because Acrylic has the same components of "Plastic" it will melt. Which brings us back to the steamer... for the win 🏆
Ps, if its a larger project, wet blocking with baby shampoo is best because it removes any oils etc from your hands 😊
@@sherit8594 hmm I'll have to try that. Good idea!
Thanks, so helpful.
💛 great to hear!
Thank you so much Abby! This is the best video I've seen for blocking I've seen! Thank you for taking the time to make it and share it! I just crocheted a couple of winter hats (acrylic yarn) and scarf. Which block method would you recommend for these projects?
You're very kind, thank you. I'm glad that you enjoyed it. Now, I realize I'm very late in responding to this comment, so sorry! Maybe you have already blocked your hats and scarf? But I really like the steam blocking if you have a steamer. It's so much faster with hardly any wait time and you get good results. But you also can't go wrong with wet blocking.
Thank you so much great tutorial 😊
Thanks! 😄 Hope it helped!
That's so informative, well done and thank you..I'm wondering if this steam blocking will prevent my finished article from stretching after on or two wears? I machine knitted boot cuffs, which stretched terribly after one day of wearing!
This is a super informative and helpful video, thank you so much!
I really wish I could find something similar for natural fibers. I'm a beginner crocheter and I'm not sure which method to use for my wool project, is there a known best method or do they all work about as well as each other? If anyone knows where I can find this information I would really appreciate it, thank you for your time
Thank you for the super informative video. Do you think I should block my knitted baby blanket before washing it please?
Excellent!!! I was gonna try steam blocking next. I have a shiny, silky, acrylic dragon wing scarf I need to block as all the little "steps" have curled!! And it would look lovely if you could just see those steps properly. I don't normally block my stuff but this piece has so many corners and they've ALL curled so needs must. I e never actually done it, I tried a wet block but it didn't work so thank you for doing this experiment it's EXACTLY the kind of video I needed. 🙏❤
Steam blocking sounds perfect for that project! You can really concentrate on those corners and eliminate the curling. Best of luck!
i don’t have a steamer so i’ve been trying to figure out what else i could use for the time being until i get one. i found stuff but not times and the important info. i was originally gonna go w spray blocking but definitely gonna go w wet blocking now.
lovely video! Could you do one on how to identify different yarns?
Well thank you! Yarn weights is a topic I've had on my video list actually (if that's what you mean by identifying yarns ??), I just haven't filmed anything on this topic. I do however have a resource page that links to different articles about the different types of yarn. You can find that on my website here: sewhomey.com/yarn-weights/
I hope that is of use to you. Also, I'd love to hear more specifically what questions you have about identifying yarns. Contact me anytime here: sewhomey.com/contact/ or DM me on Insta. Thanks for the comment!
I know in the end it’s probably not a big deal but I did have a mini heart attach when you started squeezing you swatches after you soaked it for wet blocking. I’ve alway heard and have only used a towel to remove water by placing a project on a towel and rolling it up and then pressing, using multiple towels.
Lol! Definitely not my intention. I've always squeezed out my pieces after soaking to get some of the water out. Then I'll roll in a towel. I'm careful not to twist the piece so I don't felt or stretch the project. Although, these swatches were small and I didn't feel the need to roll in a towel.
Thank you for bringing this up and taking the time to comment. I will pay more attention to the details and make sure I explain things more fully.
Yes
Me too
Ringing breaks acrylic yarn
What kind of starch? Anyone
Dreyfus?
Ty
How disappointing for fail on first one
I spray them with water very well then put cloth on top and iron them kind of works like a steamer and its perfect
It would’ve been nice to see a combo of the spray/hairdryer methods. I feel like that would be somewhat like steam!
Would a steam iron on low heat be ok as a steam method or would this still be too hot? Great video!
How would I block an acrylic yarn bag? Do i block the two stars and then stitch them together or do i block the bag all together
Hey quite late to the video! Just wanted to know since I don’t have a steamer, would it be ok to spray my crochet piece with water, then use the hairdryer?
What yarn did you use for the swatches? I just love that color! 💙🤗💙
This was so helpful in blocking my acrylic scarf. Does anyone have ideas on best method of blocking for superwool yarn??
That's great to hear! I haven't tested "best" methods for blocking superwash wool, but wet blocking is probably the most popular opinion. That's what I do and get great results.
After blocking, can i put it outside or under the sun to dry
What if you use the wet method but with hot(not not too hot) water?
Is blocking a one time thing or do you have to redo it every time you wash the piece?
I can vouch that even leaving a damp blanket on a blocking mat for a week didn't have much effect. but how about using a hair dryer for a damp or water-sprayed swatch as an alternative to a steamer? You cannot felt acrylic but if you have the heat source too close you can melt the fibres! It is made of plastic, after all.
I have this same question!
That is not something I thought of. That’s a great question! I would think the combination of wet swatch and hair dryer would have a similar effect, but this is something I would need to experiment with…. Wish I had the answer! If anyone else has had experience, I’d love to know! Otherwise, I’ll have to get back to you..
I’d be interested to see an updated video containing “stiffening” types of blocking, like starch and hairspray
That’s an interesting suggestion. I’ve never tried something like that actually. If you have any recommendations or suggestions, I’d love to research more! Maybe there could be another experiment.
Excellent idea!!
I’ve done it with doilies and mandalas! Really works to keep the edges down. Only thing is it takes a while because you’re typically doing it for more intricate things and I suggest pinning throughout and not just the border.
What if i spray then use hair dryer? I have made granny's square blanket and i have not blocked any of the squares. I simply had no clue😢. Now all sqaures are stitched into a blanket and i am convinced i need to block. Btw i don't have a steamer
I have always been told that steam is needed for acrylic, but I got scared off from blocking soon after I started learning crochet. I made a little tunisian scarf, and I followed a tutorial for steaming it with an iron. I covered it with a cloth and steamed with the iron hovering an inch over the fabric. The fibers flattened and the whole thing smelled like burning plastic. I had to trash it.
Oh no!! That's so terrible, all that hard work 😭 I only had an iron for a long time and used the method you described. I was always so scared of my project turning out like that. Not to mention burning myself...always a risk. But I think with a steamer, it's more controlled and you don't risk burning your project.
That just kills me to hear what happened to your project. I hope that didn't scare you away from blocking for good! There are other methods to test out!
Thank you for doing this.( I "killed" my first acrylic scarf! )
Lol it happens! Not always pleasant when it's a surprise, but can have good results if you intend to "kill" the acrylic (or so I've heard...I've only accidentally "killed" acrylic and it wasn't the best)
I always though that acrylic yarn that’s been “killed” gives you a better drape - more like a knit. I didn’t think it was necessarily a bad thing, sometimes it’s exactly what you want.
Thanks. Just about to block an acrylic afghan, or Not. Might need a steamer.
I made a shawl and saw on Reddit that blocking is very necessary especially since my edging details aren't laying flat
This was the perfect video and a great experiment, thank you for the curiosity and dedication to finding the best method, you're a life saver!
Thanks for sharing! Yes, it sounds like your shawl needed blocking. Did it work?!
@@SewHomey 100% I did the steam blocking with an iron on high (a couple inches from the shawl) on my mattress with straight pins (I put towels underneath to protect my sheets a bit) and it expanded the details beautifully, specifically the edging I picked I wanted a pointed effect that I could barely makeout before because of curling at the point
I loved it right off the hook but the steam blocking really set everything so nicely it looks so professional now, I'm going to use this method all the time now, your tips and tricks helped so much!
hello! I was wondering if blocking acrylic will change the gauge like it would for an animal fiber - I'm following a hat pattern that accounts for the size after blocking and I would probably have to increase the stitch count so it doesn't end up to tight, right?
In my experience the gauge doesn't really change once blocked, it just straightens out the fabric. So yes, it would make sense that you would want to increase the stitch count.
@@SewHomey thanks for replying so quickly!
I'd like to know if they stay in shape once washed and dried. I definitely prefer steaming to any other method.
Do you mean after the initial blocking? Or the actual method of blocking by the washer and dryer?
Yep, steam blocking is the best and the reason is it is slightly "killed". That's what you want, actually, with acrylic. This is my experience, anyway. The last thing you want is the recipient of your knits washing and then drying the knit and it ending up curling and looking a mess. Killing the acrylic is permanent, adds drape and a slight sheen with some. Killing it means it melts just barely.
does this work on polyester yarn?
Thank you so much I am a new subscriber 😊💐🎉🌈👋
Welcome!! So happy that you are here. Please reach out if you need anything.
@@SewHomey thank you. I’m finishing up my first acrylic shawl and I heard from my friend that acrylic was not the same as natural fibers so I figured I better find out. You we the one who gave a comparison test for us to see for ourselves. It was a fair and complete test. I really appreciated the time you put into it. I loved the fact that you said you enjoyed going it. It lets me know you won’t skimp on details.👏🏻💐
@@tammyk.stresslessjoy1524 That's exciting! Thanks for letting me know your thoughts on this video. It is nice to have your work appreciated, and even better when your work helps someone! I find topics like these so interesting and hope to do more in the future.
If you flipped to the sides of the wrong/purl side of the work and blocked it that way, would make a difference?
That’s a really good question. Definitely worth experimenting with! It could help with the curling.. but I’m not really sure how much without trying it for myself. Sorry that’s not very helpful, but I’ll have to give it a try and get back to you. Thanks for the idea!
This was useful, so I thank you for this! However, I would like to see someone blocking an actual acrylic sweater. All I can find is people blocking swatches. I am doing a good bit of knitting for my little granddaughter and I want my daughter-in-law to be able to have that ease of care, so acrylic yarn it is. So, when you are steam blocking a sweater for a 3 year old (so it's small) is it necessary to let block one side, let it dry, and then turn it over to do the backside? I know this isn't necessary with wool, but I am not sure about acrylic. I have much more experience with wool and knitting sweaters for myself. Amazing how a sweet little girl coming into your life will transform a selfish knitter like myself! Haha!! Any advice is appreciated!
I'm so glad that it helped! Swatches are definitely easier for experiments because they are faster to make and dry, but when applied to bigger projects, the results can vary. So I totally understand where you are coming from.
I will be honest, I have only blocked one acrylic sweater, but I wet blocked it. It was a weight 5 yarn and pretty thick. So what I'm thinking is that if you have a thick sweater, the steam might not penetrate all the way through to the other side so you may need to block one side at a time. This is something I would need to experiment with though, so if anyone else has experience with this, please feel free to add your advice!
By the way, your granddaughter is so lucky to have a grandmother like you! It's so special to receive handmade items from someone you care about.