I am making a poncho and the yarn I’m using is 60% mohair and 40% acrylic. The pattern is basically a garter drop stitch. I was planning on blocking it after I was finished (my first attempt at blocking), but after reading some of the topics here, I’m not sure I should attempt it, given that it’s 40% acrylic.
Can I still block it? I’d really like to, since it’s a gift and I’d like it to look as “finished” as possible. If I can block it, what method should I use? Wet or steam?
With 60% mohair I would think it will still have some give to it. I don’t see any reason not to block it. I think you could use either method although I personally prefer the wet block.
Even on 100% acrylic that doesn’t block, a wash and block will even out the stitches and make the knitting look better. In this case, it may not block as extensively as something that’s 100% natural fibre, but 60% is significant. I would definitely wet-block, I don’t recall anything about mohair being a particularly fragile fibre…
Actually, be careful about steam on acrylic, some people like the effect and say it softens and relaxes the fabric, but others describe this as killing the item, making it go limp, and hate the effect. If you want to try this, I suggest knitting up a little square in the same pattern, same size needles, and steam that. This way, if you hate the effect, you haven’t ruined a huge poncho. Even with only 40% acrylic, it might go limp, and this effect is irreversible.