Do I have to block?

General Knitting
1

Hi all,

I’m knitting a scarf (basket weave pattern) with patons Rumour (alpaca blend) and it is turning out really nicely.

I am wondering if I should block it before I send it off to it’s intended recipient. I mean… it is a scarf right? so won’t it just get all stretched out anyways?

And to block… should you suggest I do… can I just pin it on my ironing board and spritz it with water to shape it?

Thanks!

2

hmmmm :?? Alpaca blend, huh? How much Alpaca? By experience, I am a pretty big fan of blocking if there is any detail to the pattern and if it is natural fiber yarn. It really does transform the piece from a duckling to a swan.

I don’t get very fancy with my blocking technique at this point in my knitting career. I let the piece soak in cool water (with some wool wash if you have it, or not!) for a few minutes. Gently squeeze out the excess water and roll it in a towel to get out more water. Then I lay it on a towel on my bed and keep tugging at it until it is the shape and size I want. After that, it pretty much stays where I put it.

I think you will like the results of blocking. It brings out the stitch pattern and gives a finished look. Good luck. I’m sure your friend will love her new scarf made by you.

3

Just looking at the specs for this yarn:
http://store.knitting-warehouse.com/yarn-patons-rumor.html

It is actually very little alpaca and most acrylic. So I’m not sure how well it will block, but really it’s always worth a try. A basketweave pattern is sort of like a broken rib almost so it likely pulls in some. Blocking would flatten things out so the stitch pattern can stand out a lot better, it just might not stay totally in the blocked state.

By the way I felt that yarn at the store not too long ago and it is VERY soft :happydance: .

4

I am a blocking fanatic. But I don’t get fancy either. I use the iron board/spritzing/pinning technique. It made the difference in my mom’s sweater, which just looked kinda cool when it finished, to really looking like a professional garment.

I know knitty.com has a great article on different kinds of blocking!

5

With 84% acrylic, I’m not sure I would bother blocking. It might make some improvement but I don’t think it will stay that way.

Normally, with alpaca I would say to pin and spritz because alpaca has a tendency to stretch if it gets really wet but with only 15% I’m not sure that would be a big problem.