Surfing the internet,the Face Book,Twitter and other artisan/crafter social networks I hear the question: “Ok, Is it really necessary to block my crochet projects.
What is the difference if you do or don't block your crochet?
A little bit of background,When I first learned to crochet I knew nothing about blocking probably because I was concentrating on learning the various crochet stitches and because crochet was not associated with the computer it was a “Come sit by me, let me show you how to crochet. Of course from there you learned to single crochet,double crochet, how to make a circle, a square then stitch them together. I didn’t learn about blocking a crochet garment/accessory until about say six years ago. Before then I washed the item laid it out by hand and it looked pretty good.
I have some pieces I still own that I crocheted in my twenties. I am now 54. When my mother shared the art of crochet with me she didn’t go into the whole process of blocking your pieces but she did know that if you had an item made of yarn you needed to smooth is out and lay it flat to dry in good shape.
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| Two crochet pieces that have not been blocked. |
Let’s fast forward to today. Yes I absolutely agree with blocking my crochet projects better yet each piece as I finish them. What a difference in seeing how the crocheting project will look and most importantly fits together. Basically for me the same thing that my mother taught me when washing sweaters, pulling them into shape (well not exactly pulling) and laying it flat to dry. Never hang crochet on hangers. Blocking relaxes the yarn and gives that neat finish.
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| My crochet blocking board |
This is a piece of wool before it was blocked and after. Wool for me (because I crochet so tightly wrinkles). Does this happen to you? |
| Crochet side handbag pieces after they were blocked. |
This is a worsted wool piece for a new handbag. - the same 2 curled crocheted pieces in the photo above. The crochet is quite tight(thus the other need for blocking), but because they will be the sides I will be reinforcing these sides with a type of interfacing.
Until next time Keep The Faith and Plenty of Yarn!
~ Cheryl
