#wetblocking

[pien-art]

make what you love, do what you love :) filet crochet 50 x 37 cm prints available here dyke version here

[vashti-lives]

She’s done!! Wet blocking is so fucking magical.

[casioblancas]

I finally did it, after literally five months of work I finished my first shawl 😭😅 casting off felt very unreal after all this time my god

[v1rtualtrash]

That Tom & Jerry ask gave me an idea...

Bedsick=Tom, Wetblock=Jerry?

CAUSE GAYSOCK IS SHORT 😭😭 also an excuse to draw cedric with cat ears (once again)

[nohoperadio]

I've gotten extremely good at this over the years which is nice because reading bad posts from people I hate used to be like, mostly what I used the internet for. Now when I see a post on my dash from someone I hate I just scroll on past without even skimming it and this usually comes quite naturally with only a flicker of a temptation to peek at the post.

In my head I refer to this as "wetblocking" because it's kind of like blocking someone but using only my biological systems, ie my eyes and my scrolling hand. I don't really use the block function of websites and I think part of why I don't need it is that I have become so adept at wetblocking

i think it can be a really good idea to totally avoid reading bad posts from people you hate. just dont read them! if you follow someone who regularly shows you such posts, unfollow that person. reading bad posts from people you hate sucks!

[commonhooker]

finally finished the blanket!

[snowvitamins]

Wet blocked my triangle scarf tonight after getting my new blocking pads in the mail

[milkweedman]

wetblocking means getting it wet and letting it dry. you’ll see the term used all over fiber arts (usually just ‘blocking’, but its almost always wet blocking unless otherwise specified); for knitting or crochet there’s often an element of pinning it to blocking boards to achieve specific shapes, sizes, etc. when you get fabric wet, whatever shape it dries in is its new ‘default’ state to which it will return until the next time it gets wet.

for blocking yarn specifically, there’s no blocking boards or pins--all you need is your skein and some water. get the skein wet. let the skein dry (i like to drape it over a clotheslines to straighten it a little and give air flow). you’re done !

however, everyone does it slightly differently and has their own preferences.

some people prefer to use warm or hot water (especially if your skein is a little gross or a little greasy, washing it in hot, mildly soapy water can remove the dirt and grease), some people prefer to soak their skeins rather than wash them (put them in a dedicated wool-washing tub, bowl, pot, etc, with hot water and maybe either soap or hair conditioner to soften it and let it sit. nobody can agree upon how long exactly it should sit for--i maintain that anything past an hour is pointless except to let conditioner sit, some people will do it for a whole day or longer).

an optional step is thwacking, snapping, etc. once your wool is wet and you’re about to dry it, you can take it outside (or behind the shower curtain--this will get your immediate surroundings and yourself somewhat wet), and try any of the following:

--Snapping: snap the skein like a whip, moving your grip along the skein as you go. this helps it dry a lot faster and evens out the twist. i’ve also noticed it leads to less crimpy skeins, but i haven’t really tested it.

--Thwacking: hit the skein against something (something it wont catch on that won’t damage the yarn. a smooth fence or  the side of a very simple chair), aiming to strike near the tip of the yarn. move your grip as you go. this encourages your yarn to bloom (grow in diameter) and strengthen, which is helpful if you plan to use the yarn for warps or something hardwearing (socks, bags, etc)

--Snapping: the last way i usually come across is also called snapping, but instead place your hands inside the skein, move them away to draw it taut, and quickly bounce them further outward, making it more taut. this is more gentle than the other form of snapping, but does the same thing. ideal for smaller spaces or more delicate yarns.

this article goes into the second two in more detail, and shows a way to dry it if you want to do that before snapping/thwacking (i can’t say i’ve ever bothered, but it’s probably nicer in the winter)

Hi! I’m a new spinner. What do you think about wet finishing yarn? Like after you spin it you just get it all wet and you can thwack it. Like I think I saw you say you spun some yarn and knitted socks without getting it wet and then you just blocked the socks? What did you think about that? My plan is to make a blanket of small swatches so I think I wanna crochet each one without wet finishing first and just block the swatch….

hi ! that's a great question.

REASONS WE BLOCK YARN:

1) it sets the twist. in my sock yarn there was VERY little twist to set, so i didn't bother. in high twist or balanced yarns you'll find the yarn kinking up before it's been blocked or at least rested, which can be frustrating to knit or crochet with. also, because unblocked yarn is still actively twisting one way, your finished object will bias, meaning that a crochet square might look more like a rhombus. this can be fixed when you're blocking it, but it can also make it more difficult to gauge when the square is the right size.

2) it can change the texture, weight, drape, and yardage. a skein of cormo that i spun shrunk about 10 inches (from a two yard hank) after i blocked it. if i made something with the yarn before blocking, that item would also shrink a LOT. the cormo also puffed up a ton, so that skein went from being worsted weight to somewhere between aran and bulky. most yarns don't change quite so dramatically, but pretty much all of them do change in some way. if you crochet a square with unblocked worsted weight yarn and your yarn puffs up once blocked, your square is going to be way more dense than you thought it would be, and might even end up losing most of its drape and being kind of stiff instead. so you'll have a much easier time guessing how your finished squares will turn out if you're working with yarn that's already been blocked.

WHEN YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH NOT BLOCKING YOUR YARN

1) when you're going to be spinning a big batch of the same yarn and then doing the same thing with it. so, if you bought 2 pounds of merino roving and you plan on spinning it all on drop spindles with medium twist as a worsted weight 3 ply and then turning all of it into crochet squares.... you probably don't need to block your yarn more than once. I would still recommend blocking a little bit of it and crocheting a square with that just to see what you'll be getting, and then you can pretty much just work your unblocked yarn the exact same way and you should get the same result once blocked (but it would be prudent block a square immediately afterward just to make sure, as opposed to crocheting 100 squares before blocking any of them and finding they don't match up with your blocked original).

2) when you don't really care how the finished object will turn out. i'm actually also make a handspun blanket right now, and i know for a fact that a few of the scraps in my bucket were never blocked. at the end of the day, though, it's a scrap blanket. it's not going to look pretty and the squares are already lots of different sizes, so if one square ends up really weird i can either remake it, try and fix it, or just go with it anyway. i don't really mind ! if you feel similarly about your crafting and don't mind an imperfect finished object, then blocking may not achieve anything you care about.

OTHER OPTIONS TO WET BLOCKING

1) resting. just skein up your yarn and let it sit for a while. lots of people swear by resting their yarn instead of blocking it. the twist settles down after a week or so and kinking usually is less of an issue from there on.

pros: totally hands off

cons: takes a lot longer and doesn't necessarily allow the skein to shrink or puff up or anything like that, so you may still be taken off guard when you block your square.

2) steam blocking. hold a skein of yarn over a pot of boiling water (using tongs, and rotating the skein every 20 seconds or so to make sure you get all of it). then once the steam has gotten to all of it, let it dry like normal.

pros: dries in about 1/10 of the time of wet blocked yarn.

cons: if you drop it in the water, you will probably not have yarn anymore. it also doesn't allow for the twist to evenly distribute itself before it sets the way that wet blocking does, so if your twist is inconsistent you will notice it in the finished yarn. also, it sucks to do in the summer.

-----

as for my own personal thoughts on it...... on the one hand, i'm of the opinion that wet blocking yarn is integral to being able to work with it correctly. on the other hand, i'm a very lackadaisical crafter who usually just does whatever the hell i feel like, and so even knowing that skipping what i consider to be an important step will probably mess up my finished project a little, i still sometimes don't bother doing it ! that's what happened with the aforementioned socks, and it didn't hugely affect the finished objects because it was so low twist and they were supposed to quick and ugly. but i know that most other crafters don't necessarily approach crafting the same way, so if you want things to be perfect, then you need to prepare your materials correctly. i would say that since you are a beginner, it's very much worth learning how to do it right before anything else, but in the end it's entirely up to you !

[sarcasticbabywhispererjess]

As much as I wanted to try a new shape and pattern, I think the star was the better way to go in the end.

[nilzapereirauk]

A nice good soak in some warm water with hair conditioner 🤓. . . . #knittedshawl #autumn #autumnleaves #laceshawl #loveyarn #knitspiration #neckwarmer #instaknit #knittersofinstagram #knit #wetblocking

[dutchjan]

October 13, 2019

[stitchnoirfibrearts]

Blocked! I can't wait for the lovely shawl to dry! :) #risingdawn #stephenwest #knitting #wetblocking

[casioblancas]

Wetblocking my shawl! I’m so exited to unpin it tomorrow and see the final result 😁😬

[brittmiscast]

My latest custom Etsy commission: an extra long shawl for a 65cm girl doll, which will reach the knees. I made this for someone with a wool allergy. 😊 I love doing custom orders and accommodating my customers the best I can. Please don't ever hesitate to send me a message and ask! 💖 (Yarn is @redheartyarns Unforgettable) #bjd #doll #miniature #shawl #crochet #crochetcreations #instacrochet #studiomiscast #etsy #commission #etsyorder #etsybjd #wetblocking #redheartyarn

[bulldogdaddy68]

This #reynashawl has been sitting in a bag complete and unblocked for a few months at least. Finally got the thing #wetblocked and pinned over the weekend. This yarn makes me #smile #guatamalanness by #meadowcroftdyeworks #merinowool #sockyarn #guyswhoknit #realmenknit #yarnwhore

[alauchter]

Wet blocking a new project! I highly recommend using @eucalan for blocking — it’s amazing! When this dries, I’ll have a third Christmas gift completed! #wetblocking #knitstagram #eucalan #eucalanfan #eucalanwoolwash #christmasknitting