Blocking/washing a superwash wool baby blanket

#1

hello all!

Newbie here! I started knitting recently and I will be finishing up a 30 x 30" baby blanket that I knit using Cascade 220 Superwash Sport. It’s my first baby blanket, so I don’t want to screw it up! I’m giving this as a gift, and I want to know how I should wash and block it when it’s completed.

Since this gift is for a newborn, and I have pets in my home, I would like to make sure the blanket is thoroughly washed before gifting. Superwash wool is also supposed to be machine washable (on cool)/tumble dryable (on low) and I want to make sure that works so there aren’t any unpleasant surprises for the giftee the first time she puts it in the wash.

So… when it’s done, what do I do first? Do I block first, then machine wash/dry, then block again? Do I wash first, then block? Do I wet block? Steam block?

Any guidance greatly appreciated!! Thank you!

#2

Welcome to Knitting Help!

I would first wash and dry a swatch if you want to see how the yarn handles it. That way if it doesn’t work you can do the blanket differently.

#3

I think I would wash it as directed and lay it out to block it dry. This should even out the stitches. After that you can wash it and dry it as directed and it shouldn’t need blocking again, and you can see how well it holds up. After all a newborn’s blanket is going to get a lot of washing!

I made a washable wool blanket for my son and daughter in law for their wedding 5 years ago, and it’s been well used and kept clean. It still looks great!

#4

Thank you. This answered my question.