Guilty confession...

[tea and oranges]

5. Blocking is Transformative

By blocking I mean complete immersion of finished object (FO)in water laced w/ a product like Soak, roll FO in a towel, dance on towel. This removes excess water.

Spread FO gently by hand on a blocking board (this can be a layer of towels on your bed) & pin into shape. Let dry.

What this does to the drape of your yarn (yes, even acrylic) is astonishing! Stitches open up, yarn softens & blooms - it's a wonder.

For lacework & shawls it's a good idea to invest in wires.

My confession is that I'm addicted to what I call interim blocking. By that I mean I'm too impatient to wait until something's done to see how the stitches will look or what size it'll turn out to be (even if I've wet swatched) or sometimes to see what something looks like before I add an edging.

Once blocked, an FO will retain much of its shape if washed gently. Simply spread out & let dry.