You might have seen my previous blocking tutorial with a knit tee. I loved the result! I used this same method to block a newly finished crochet sweater. So I captured the process again to post an update here, not because anything has changed, but to show how it works on crocheted items too.
The Garment: Crocheted Sweater
My sweater was quite stiff and a little uneven all over, which is why I chose to block it. I wanted to make it relax the sweater and even it out.
The Process
I soaked my sweater by leaving it in a pot of water for about maybe an hour. Just long enough for the water to seep through each grain of fiber in my sweater.
Blot excess water
I know this sounds contradictory or silly, but the next step is to remove the excess water 😅 You want it to be wet, but not sopping dripping wet. I achieve this by laying it out and rolling it:
I did that three times with two towels until I felt like my sweater was wet enough to adopt a slightly different shape upon drying while not dripping if it were to be lifted up.
Lay it flat
I laid out my sweater on two towels side by side on top of a yoga mat in the shape I wanted it to dry.
This is where you’d work to re-shape the garment if you want. Shorter, longer, wider, even out the sleeve lengths, etc. You can stretch it out, manipulate it, pull it out… do that now!
Pin it
Now that we laid it out perfectly, we will pin it down so it keeps its shape while it dries. We don’t want all this effort to go to waste!
I just used regular sewing ball point pins to pin the sweater down through to the yoga mat. I was careful to place the pins in between stitches, and not stab the garment!
That was kind of easy given how airy this sweater is, but it’s still a good thing to keep in mind.
Wait for it to dry
The hard work is done! The next thing to do is wait for it to dry, likely overnight 24h (depending on the piece), un-pinning and flipping over a little over halfway to allow it to fully dry.
The result
I don’t think it shows as accurately on camera, and I think the visual difference is bigger in the knit tiger tee, but I could *definitely* tell the difference after blocking the crochet sweater, not just in how it looked but how it felt:
The “before” has more ridges and edges while the post-block “after” is softer with a lighter-feeling, less stiff drape. I didn’t intend for this to happen, but the sleeves got a lot longer 😂 for me it’s fine, but I think it just goes to show how blocking can change the fit.
I LOVE my sweater! It’s airy which I love because I spend so much time being both too hot and too cold simultaneously, so this seems perfect. Another successful blocking session!
