Carefully lift the soaked item from the water and gently squeeze out the extra water. Gently does it! Step 3: Fill the spray bottle with spritz and cold water and spray the knitted fabric until it dampens. Do not soak the garment with water.

It may feel counterintuitive, but do not put your first pins in the corners. Pin in the centre of the sides and keep opening up the fabric out towards the corners.

Buy our blocking wire sets at your LYS

Step 2: Use the hottest setting for the steam function on your iron, go over the knitted piece WITHOUT pressing down. That’s really important!

A ruler helps to keep the edges of the knitted garment neat . You should use a ruler to pin the garment to the board to ensure straight edges and seams appear as planned. It is also used to evenly shape pieces; whether they are panels for a sweater or simple granny squares, finished items look a whole lot better if their parts are neatly shaped. Starting in the centre of your work, use your fingers to manipulate out the fabric to the tension you are looking for and work out towards the edges.

Place on a dry towel and gently roll up. Don’t wring it out. Rather stomp on the towel with clean feet to remove excess water. You many need more than 1 dry towel. Water – you can soak your project in a clean bowl, basin, sink or bath, and you may also find a simple spray bottle useful Step 9: Leave the fabric to dry. Once the material has dried, you should remove the pins and seam them together when necessary. A table, open space of floor or bed works well. If you are going to use your bed remember you will need to sleep and knitting can take a while to dry, especially in the colder northern climes.

Step 3: Fill the basin or sink with cold water and add wool wash. Soak the scarf in water for thirty minutes. Soak your folded section pieces or finished item in a bowl of lukewarm water and a generous dollop of KnitIQ wool wash. Let your knitwear soak for 10 - 30 minutes. Lift it out very carefully, using both hands. Squeeze the excess water out gently - do not wring it aggressively. Then lay the item flat onto a dry towel and roll it up. Press down firmly on the rolled-up towel. Your objective is to get out as much excess moisture as possible. Fill your chosen vessel with tepid water and wool wash. No hot water please folks, remember the key to felting fibre is hot water and agitation. You are not aiming for felted knits, so warm and gentle please. Wires come in a variety of weights. Some are thin and flexible — perfect along shorter curved edges — while others are a bit more sturdy and work well along the straightaways of a scarf or stole.To soak, submerge the fabric, gently squeezing out any air bubbles so that the piece can remain under the water without being held there. Never place any wool item under running water as this motion may felt or full the wool. When the water runs clear, put the shawl into a wash bag. Don’t lift the shawl (as this might stretch it) but take the bag to the shawl. An old pillow case works almost as well.

Once you have the pins in the centre of the sides, continue to evenly shape the fabric, then you can add the pins in the corners. Step 2: Place the blanket on the board. Ensure that you place the blanket according to the desired appearance, then place pins on the edges to hold it in place. If you’ve read any of my posts on gauge, you will know that I am a fan of always making a swatch for any crochet item which needs to fit. Once your item has finished soaking, lift it out of the water, making sure to support its weight evenly so that the wet fabric doesn’t sag and stretch the garment — wool can absorb a lot of water and become quite heavy! Gently squeeze (never wring) to remove excess water. Then roll your item between clean, dry towels with light pressure to further remove moisture.Also take care that your pins do not go through the board and scratch or damage the surface underneath. Keep your pins away from pets and children. (My cat likes to try chew on the tops and it terrifies me!)