Hi, I have a bunch of baby blankets I have knitted for charity that need to be blocked. The last time my steam iron went kaput I bought an iron that doesn’t steam. Now I’m wondering the best way to do all this blocking. I’m concerned that if I hold the iron over a damp pressing cloth, close enough to create steam I will flatten the yarn. I’ve read about getting them wet and then pinning it down till it dries but I’ve never tried that. Does it work? Maybe I should just buy another steam iron. I know how to block with that. Any suggestions? Thanks so much!
Georgia
How good of you to knit these blankets to donate to charity.
Did you use acrylic fiber? If so you might try treating as the yarn ballband suggest, maybe machine washing and drying. Machine washing and pinning out will work too if the clothes dryer isn’t recommended.
I’ve used a steam iron held above acrylic flowers and similar items and it works so nicely.
If you’re working with wool or superwash, I like hand washing and pinning to dry but again, the manufacturer’s recommendation is the best guide here.
Thank you for this lovely donation.
Did you use acrylic yarn that is machine washable and dryer is OK? When I use machine wash and dry yarn that’s exactly what I do with the FO - wash and dry it. I did this for a wedding gift afghan with cables and lace. It worked beautifully. Just be sure to not put it in with towels or other items that will cause pilling and lint on your blankets. You can bet nobody will hand wash, lay flat to dry when they use the blankets.
Yes I used acrylic yarn and the hospital wants everything washed before it’s brought in. The label assures me they are machine wash and dry so I’m just gonna jump in and do it. Thanks so much for your feedback! Georgia
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I hope you like the results. I’ve never done much to block acrylic things. So far so good here.