Knitting and Crochet: 5 Resources for Blocking Basics

Craft & Design Yarncraft
Knitting and Crochet: 5 Resources for Blocking Basics

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Yarn crafters have always had a love/hate relationship with blocking. It’s a necessary evil, especially for properly fitting garments, open laces, and giving your handmade projects a nice finished look (example: my chevron lace cardigan, pictured above), but finding the right method for both your project and the specific yarn that you’re using can be a bit intimidating—even experienced fiber crafters need a little refresher once in a while.

Case in point: I spent the morning blocking a stack of pixie hats. But, because I used yarns made of different fibers for each hat (ranging from bamboo to wool to cotton), and it’s been a while since I’ve done any blocking and I wanted to make sure that I didn’t make any rookie mistakes, I spent some time researching different blocking methods before I got started. Since fiber crafting season is upon us, I thought I’d share a few of those helpful resources for blocking basics with you:

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1. VOGUEknitting Knit 101 Beginner Basics: Blocking

Includes a supply list, tips for wet blocking, steam blocking, and pinning and pressing, plus a guide for how to block different types of fibers.

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2. Knitting Daily The Basics of Blocking, Part One and The Basics of Blocking, Part Two

A step-by-step guide to blocking and shaping a finished garment, including photo step-outs.

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3. The Purl Bee Blocking

Includes a supply list and instructions for hand blocking, spray-and-pin blocking, and employing more heavy duty blocking methods for items requiring a more aggressive technique.

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4. TECHknitting Why block hand knits? Here’s why (and how)!

Provides a great before-and-after photo explanation showing how blocking can transform an item, then walks you through the entire process one step at a time.

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5. LoveToKnow Crafts Blocking Knitting

Focuses on wet blocking, one of the most common techniques for blocking many different types of yarn projects.

There are tons and tons of blocking methods and tips out there, and these links are simply a few resources to help you get started. If you’ve got your own favorite blocking guides and tricks, please share them in the comments below!

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Haley Pierson-Cox from Red-Handled Scissors is a maker of crafts, a lover of cats, an avid swearing enthusiast, a cross-stitch book author, and a general purveyor of quirk. She's also sometimes an irritable cartoon named Tiny Cranky Haley. https://www.redhandledscissors.com

View more articles by Haley Pierson-Cox

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