I am about to block a lace scarf, this one: www.mtholyoke.edu/~bsennott/Falling%20Water%20Pattern.pdf
When you block lace, do you pin it into the position you want it to end up in, or do you pin it even wider with the idea that it won’t block as wide as you pin it? I worry that even if I pin it, for example, at 5", once it is dry and I release the pins, it will shrink a bit to 4 1/2" because of the ribby nature of this lace.
Hey,
Congrats on the lace scarf!!! So you’re finally done, huh? How long did it take you? 
I always block to the size I want the finished product to be. Never had it shrink back on me. It’ll look so much nicer after you block it, it’s very satisfying.
That’s a very textural lace pattern and I don’t think it will open up much unlike some more 2 dimensional lace patterns. My advice would be to get it wet first and then stretch it out to the dimensions you want. Unless, of course, you used an alpaca yarn in which case it would be better to pin and spritz as alpaca has a tendency to stretch out.
Thanks Yarn Doc and Calamintha. It’s a silk/mohair blend. I spritzed it on the towel and then stretched it to the desired width and pinned. We’ll see how it goes. It’s nearly dry now. my apt. air is really dry.
Now yarn doc, you know I just whipped that scarf up in a few days. A few Fridays, that is. 