How to Block With Homespun Yarn
After all the hard work you put into spinning and knitting a garment from homespun yarn, you owe it to yourself to properly block it. Blocking gives knitted items a finished look; it allows you to gently pull garments to size, it evens out the tension and it smooths stitches. It's especially important to block garments knit from handspun yarn, since blocking can help tame slightly uneven yarn.
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Instructions
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Submerge the homespun garment in a basin of cool water and allow it to soak. If you used bulky homespun yarn to knit the garment, let it soak for at least 30 minutes to allow the fibers to become fully saturated with water. Lighter-weight yarns require less soaking time.
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Remove the water-saturated knitting from the basin and gently squeeze it to release some of the water. Do not wring the knitted fabric; wringing will cause animal fibers to felt and other fibers to warp.
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Spread out a clean, dry towel and arrange the knitted piece on top of it. Place a second clean towel on top of the knitted item and roll the three layers into a tube.
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Press gently on the top of the rolled-up towels to extract even more water from your knitting.
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Unroll the towel and remove the knitted garment.
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Connect together enough interlocking foam blocks for your homespun knitted garment to comfortably rest on top of.
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Pin the garment in place on top of the interlocking foam blocks. Use your knitting pattern schematic to help you gently stretch the garment to the size it should be. If you knit your garment in pieces, pin each individual piece to the foam surface. Position the pins along the edges of the garment or the garment pieces, about every inch. Don't stretch out and pin any ribbed areas.
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Allow the garment to sit for at least 24 hours, or as long it takes for it to dry completely. Resist the temptation to unpin your blocked knitting while it's even the slightest bit damp.
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