Creating hand spun yarns takes time, especially when starting with raw, unprocessed fibers. Then using the yarn in a project takes more time. Once the project is off the needles, hook, loom, or whatever tool(s) were needed to make the item, it still is not done. There is one more, final step and that is giving the project the final finishing touch.

For woven projects, the yarns are not finished until the project is woven and removed from the loom. The tension placed on the yarns by the loom during the weaving process stretches and distorts the fibers in the yarn. Since wet finishing yarn restores elasticity, washing yarn before weaving means the yarn will be elastic on the loom where it will crate tension problems. Once the fabric is off the loom, stabilize any unfinished edges and wash it. Washing fulls the fabric, opening up the fibers in the yarns and allowing them to bloom. Machine washing woven fabric is fine but check the progress of the fulling frequently to be sure that it fulls enough but not too much as fulling is not reversible. They type of fleece used to create the yarn will also affect how the project fulls. For example, Merion will full very well and quite rapidly while luster long wools will full well but more slowly and some of the down breeds, such as Suffolk, will have minimal if any felting even after many, many washes.

Knit and crocheted projects need to be blocked to give them a nice finish. Blocking simply means giving the yarn used in the project a chance to relax back to it’s natural state after the tension, manipulation, and stress it has undergone during the knitting or crocheting process. The blocking process also smooths the fabric giving it a professional look.

There are many ways to block. Projects may be wet blocked or steam blocked. They may be pinned out, put on blocking wires or onto frames. They may also simply be steamed without using pins, wires, or frames.

If the project is made in pieces to be sewn together, then it should be blocked before being sewn up. Once the sewing up is done, steam the seams to block them.

Note that blocking is not a way of sizing a finished project. Stretching and pinning to a specific size, especially a larger size, only stretches and distorts the stitches. Sizing is done at the time a garment is knit or crocheted, not from blocking. Pinning out for blocking should not stretch the knit or crocheted fabric. The purpose is to hold the fabric straight and keep edges from rolling.

An exception to the “do not stretch when blocking” rule is lace. Lace fabrics must be stretched for the lace patterning to show correctly. A bit of starch in the wash water will help your lace projects maintain their open appearance after blocking.