How to Finish a Knitted Project
Once you have knitted a project, you can choose from a variety of finishing techniques to enhance its appearance. You need to bind off any item and weave the yarn tails into the work. You also need to seam some garments like sweaters. Many items benefit from blocking, which stretches the piece to its finished dimensions and sets it. Blocking lace reveals the openwork details and transforms the knitting from a shapeless object to a beautiful finished item. Felting is a finishing technique that takes items that have purposely been knit large and shrinks them into smaller pieces with a dense fabric.
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Things You'll Need
- Yarn needle
- Mild laundry detergent
- Rustproof straight pins
- Interlocking foam mats
- Washing machine
Instructions
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Finishing
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Bind off all the stitches once you have completed knitting your project. Knit two stitches onto the right needle from the left needle and then use the point of the left needle to lift the first stitch on the right needle over the second stitch and off the needle. Knit another stitch from the left to the right needle and lift the first stitch over the second and off the needle. Continue in this manner until one stitch remains. Cut the yarn and draw the tail through the remaining loop.
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Sew any seams required for the project. Use tail yarn where possible to join knitted pieces together. If you do not have tail yarn available for joining, use a new piece of matching yarn. Whipstitch the seams together, or choose a more advanced invisible seaming technique, such as a vertical or horizontal stitch seam, a backstitch seam or a mattress stitch seam.
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Weave in any remaining yarn tails by threading the tails onto a yarn needle and weaving them into the wrong or back side of the work. Change directions while weaving two or three times to ensure the tails won't come loose and unravel. Trim any excess yarn.
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Hand wash your knitted project using warm water and a wool wash or other mild detergent. You can wash wool yarn with shampoo. Let the item soak submerged for 20 to 30 minutes. Lay the item flat on a thick towel and roll the towel up to squeeze out any excess water. If your project does not require blocking, allow it to dry flat on a towel.
Blocking
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If your item requires blocking, lay it out when it is still damp on an interlocking foam mat covered with a towel. Stretch it out to the desired shape. Many patterns provide measurements you can use to block your item. Pin the edges to match the desired shape and measurements. Allow the item to dry completely, which could take a couple of days. This technique is called wet blocking.
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Steam block your item if you do not want to wet block it. Pin the dry piece to a foam mat to match the desired measurements. Cover the item with a damp sheet. Press the item through the sheet with a hot iron. Or set the iron to the steam setting and hover it directly over the knitted piece without touching it.
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Pin items with synthetic yarns like acrylic while they're dry and mist them with water to set their shape.
Felting
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If your project requires felting, do not wash or block it. Instead, fill a washing machine to the smallest load setting with hot water. Add a tablespoon of laundry detergent.
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Put your knitted piece into a pillowcase or mesh lingerie bag.
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Place the bag in the washing machine and run the washing machine on regular agitation. Check the item every five minutes. Once the item has felted down to the desired size, remove it from the washing machine.
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Shape the item while still damp using any props that mimic the shape of the final item. Shape and dry a felted hat over a bowl. Stuff a felted purse with plastic bags or crumpled up T-shirts to give it an open center and hang it to dry by its straps. Give items straight edges by blocking them over box corners. Allow the items to dry completely, which could take several days.
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Tips & Warnings
Blocking wires can make it easier to block large scarves and shawls. Thread the blocking wires along the edges and pin along the wires to create a straight edge. Special forms, usually wooden, are available to block socks.
Not all fibers will felt. Superwash yarns are chemically treated so they won't felt. Usually 100 percent wool yarn is good for felting. If you are not sure if your yarn will felt, knit a swatch and put it through an agitation cycle in your washing machine to see how it will behave before beginning your actual project.
Top-loading washers typically work better for felting than front-loading washers.
Do not wring out your project after you wash it as this could stretch out the stitches and damage the finished item.
Steaming synthetic yarns and some natural fibers could ruin the fabric. If you aren't sure how your yarn will behave when steamed, knit a swatch and test it before steaming your finished item.
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Polka Dot/Getty Images
