Blocking is a simple but vital step which will greatly improve the look of even the most beginner knitting. If you have made the effort to hand-knit something, it deserves to be blocked.
Check out our Knitter's Block kit and our Sweater Care Kit for all the tools you'll need.
Blocking is the process of wetting or steaming your final pieces of knitting to set the finished size and even out the stitches.
You could use any flat surface to block your garments (I'm partial to the Knitter’s Block), just be sure that your knitted piece lies flat and fully dries so that its shape sets. Don't forget to check that moisture doesn't soak through and damage anything underneath it. (This has happened to me, which is why I developed the Knitter's Block — the blocks are backed with waterproof EVA so you can safely block on a bed, table or floor.)
Always block your finished pieces before seaming. By flattening and setting the shape of your pieces, you will be able to more easily line up your stitches to seam them together.
The fiber content of the yarn and the stitch pattern of your knitting will often determine how you block your finished pieces. Below you’ll find instructions on wet blocking, which is my preferred method.
Soak your knitted item in gentle wash per the yarn label instructions. If you have a Sweater Care Kit, you may choose to use the Eucalan Fabric Wash that comes with the kit.
While your item is soaking, set up the surface that you will using for blocking. If you’re using the Knitter’s Block, configure the tiles to accommodate your knitted item.
Drain the water, then gently squeeze (don’t wring) your knitting and roll it in a towel to extract as much moisture as possible.
Lay your damp knitting right-side up on the your blocking surface and gently nudge the piece to your finished measurements.
If you’re using the Knitter’s Block, place the gingham cloth onto the assembled tiles so it will be under your knitting. Each check measures approximately 1" square. Lay your damp knitting RS up onto the checked cloth and use the checks as a guide to get your correct finished measurements.
Pin the knitted item around the edges, placing the pins at an angle, with the top of the pin pointing away from the garment. Place the first pin in the top center, moving to the bottom center as you pin the piece to the correct length. Next, pin your work to the correct width (if blocking a sweater, start with the bust width). Fill in around the edges, always referring to your finished measurements.
Allow to air dry.
Arrange your damp knitting on your blocking surface and gently nudge and smooth the piece to your finished measurements.
If you’re using the Knitter’s Block, the tiles will gently grip your knitting so that the sweater stays in place. Place the checked cloth over the knitted item to check sizing if necessary.
To help hold rolling edges down either use a few T-pins or dampen a cloth and use its weight to hold down your knitting.
Allow to air dry.
For light blocking, you can now lift the cloth and allow the knitting to dry.
For medium/heavy blocking, leave the cloth in place until it has dried. If your knitting is still damp, allow it to dry before removing.
Regardless of whether you block with or without steam, make sure your pieces are dry before moving them.
After you have sewn your garment together you may wish to steam the seams, especially if they are bulky or stiff. For shoulder and armhole seams, use a terry cloth hand towel folded and then rolled to the size and shape of your upper arm. Turn the garment inside out and fit the rolled towel into the shoulder and armhole openings. Steam the seams gently by using the wet pressing cloth and steam iron, and just barely touching the pressing cloth with the iron. Let the steam do the work.
Comments
Hi Sarah, Julie’s “How to Wet Block” Tutorial shows Julie supporting the sweater as she lifts it from the water. That should give you what you need :)
Hi
How do you stop the garment from stretching under its own weight when wet blocking? I don’t hang it at any point and just squish/press the water out of the pieces before laying out.
Hi Maureen,
If the yarn isn’t superwash, it is definitely worth trying again. Check for how this specific yarn behaves with blocking by looking it up on Ravelry or the internet.
If you blocked it too big, can you wet it and do it over again? The yarn is 100% wool.
Hi Kim,
That is Paulina, one of Julie’s earlier patterns.
Hi – can you tell me which pattern the little sweater in the second photo was made with? (The one next to Step 2: Blocking.) Thanks!
Hi Gina,
Wool blocks beautifully—even if you don’t want to block it to exact measurements, blocking evens the knitting out and makes a better looking fabric and shape. But it could be as simple a few puffs of steam or washing the sweater and laying it flat to dry before you wear it. And a lot of us might sneak a few wears in before we wash our sweater and do its first official blocking! Hope that helps :)
Is blocking (wet or steam) recommended when working with pure wool? From what I’ve read online, it sounds like blocking is less crucial when working with wool, especially chunky wool. But would love your expertise on this! Thank you.
I am knitting a stitch sampler block afghan using Premier Anti Pilling worsted 100% Acrylic Yarn. I’ve got half of the first block done which is a full garter stitch block. It’s measuring 10” across the 40 stitches instead of the 91/2” that the directions call for. Will blocking help cinch the width in a bit when it’s fully machine wash and dry material? The directions say 91/2 inches “blocked”.
Thank you for this information! It is great that you respond so quickly! I feel so much better prepared to start my first blocking.
Hi Linda,
If it’s big and cumbersome you might need to have it dry-cleaned, but Julie personally does not use petroleum-based dry cleaning. If you are able to, washing and blocking it at home is our preference. Hope that helps!
Can I take my knitted blanket to a professional dry cleaner for blocking? Would it be best to try to do it myself?
Hi Rachel,
It depends on the holders and how you are blocking. If you are steaming your piece, you can leave your Cocoknits Stitch Holders leather cords in, but you shouldn’t leave metal stitch holders in for any blocking. We haven’t tried wet blocking with our leather cords holding the stitches (and now we want to try :) ), so for now would probably put the stitches onto dental floss if we had to wet block. Hope that helps!
Hi, I am making a baby sweater with the pieces having live stitches on stitch savers. Can I block with the stitch savers still in place?
Hi Sandra, Unless you want to stretch the ribbing out for some reason, you should only steam it lightly, having pinned it in its relaxed form. Hope that helps!
Hi, thank you for the article. Should I steam also the rib stitch?
Hi Lynn,
In general, yes, as long as you aren’t trying to add a great deal to the measurements. As always, try it on your swatch to see which blocking method you prefer and how much you can modify the size. If you use heat, your piece will not return to original measurements after washing. For a less permanent method, try wet blocking.
Hope that helps and best of luck!
Can you successfully block to achieve size on a garment made with acrylic yarn
You’re welcome! This will work for your blend. Always check your ball band and follow the instructions given for the yarn so that you don’t get any surprises.
Hi thanks for the article. Does this work for all types of yarn such as silk blends. I have a yarn made up of linen silk super fine merino and baby alpaca
Hi Claudia,
So glad you find the article helpful!
You really can’t use too many pins, so go ahead and pin on each side of the cable top and bottom if you’d like. On the other hand, if you lay it out and the cable looks fine with just the pins on the rest of the sweater, then that is fine, too. Just follow the instructions and you’ll do great!
Thanks the article is so helpful. I finished a sweater in stockinette stitch that has in the center a cable motive, Do I need to place T-pins at each side of the cable in addition to the T-pins that place around the sweater? In order to make that cable looks well. It will be my first blocking and I’m a little nervous. Thanks si much for your answer
Hi Susie,
Not in general. If it is made from natural fibers, it is good to wet block to clean it. If pieces are put away dirty, they can be more susceptible to insect damage. But a week or two shouldn’t be a problem.
If you are steaming it, as long as you aren’t storing it in a way that would cause difficult to remove creases, it should be fine.
Hope that helps!
I just finished knitting a shawl. Is there a time frame that I should block my shawl after I binded it off and take the shawl off my knitting needles?
Hi Barb, If the sweater is blocked, you should block the edging before you sew it on. You’ll have a sense from the blocking process whether to account for any change in gauge so you can knit the edging to the correct length. Enjoy!
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