Blocking

I just finished knitting a shrug for my mother but it says that I need to block it before I can sew the sleeves. I don’t have the equipment for blocking. What can I use instead? Any other way of going about doing it? I’ve never really blocked anything before, but I want this to be really nice. Any and all advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Congrats on the almost finished shrug! Blocking does not require any special equipment. There are some things that make blocking easier, but special equipment isn’t necessary. In general, blocking involves getting the item wet and letting it dry or drying it to proper size. Sometimes people also use steam–depending on the kind of yarn used.

So what kind of yarn did you use? That will help us give you the right information about blocking.

Meanwhile, here’s a pretty good how-to article about blocking all kinds of different yarns in finished objects: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter02/FEATdiyknitter.html

What kind of yarn did you use? Acrylic won’t hold if you wet and pin like wool does. Basically if you wash and dry the pieces flat, that should work.

I used Bernat Satin it’s 100% Acrylic

Do I need to set anything on it once it’s washed to keep it laying flat and not curling up? Sorry if that’s a stupid question.

Nope, you can pin the edges down if they want to curl up pretty hard. But really for acrylic, that may not work. You can wash and dry it and see how it looks then. If it’s in stockinette stitch with no borders it’ll curl up on the edges no matter what you do.

I washed it and dried it flat and it helped some, but not a ton. I sewed the seams that needed it and I’m pleased with it. Thank you for your help!

If you dry it in the dryer it’ll create a little steam to set it and relax the sts somewhat.