Blocked?

[drumacat]

can anyone tell me what "blocked" is?

[Ingrid]

http://www.knitty.com/issuewinter02/FEATdiyknitter.html

Here is a great article on blocking.

[mash]

sorry, can i ask if it's necessary to block?

[suzeeq]

It may not be and it depends on the yarn fiber. Acrylics don't block, but a wash and dry evens out the stitches the way blocking does for wools. Since most of my knitting has been acrylic, I've never done it. I have a couple wooly scarves - one in entrelac, and one lacy that probably need it. Another reason to block is to get the size you need. I always knit the size I want, so don't have a problem. I also knit at a much looser gauge (on purpose, I don't like using anything smaller than 10s) which tends to make things stretchier than a denser knit.

[mash]

can cotton be blocked? i did a pair of booties and slightly smaller..wonder if i can block to size it a bit bigger?

if can,then which method of blocking is recommended?

[mash]

sorry, just realised that it's mentioned in the link provided that cotton can be blocked and steam-block is the method used by the author...

hmm...just wondering if blocking is a one time thing to do? after blocking, do i still need to wash it?

[suzeeq]

You wash, then block. With some wool sweaters, you sorta block them after every time you wash. Mostly by just patting them into shape and letting them dry flat.

[mash]

suzeeq, sorry for asking silly qn...when u mean wash then block...do u mean i wash and dry before block for cotton?

really very confuse abt blocking :(

[suzeeq]

Blocking is done while the object is wet so it will stretch if you need to make it bigger. It dries while pinned into the dimension you make it. But for cotton booties, I think all you need to do is wet them and stretch a little larger, then let them dry.