Sweater Blocking - Can I Block My Sweater Bigger? How Much Will it Grow? | Stop, Drop and Knit

[@marymele6050]

Very helpful. Love the Knitters Pride Blocking Wires - and your techniques!!! You made blocking a breeze! Thank you!! Your sweater is beautiful!!!!

[@karenpellien3235]

How lucky you were Lisa! Great job, another beautiful sweater. Be well, luv you, Karen

[@StopDropandKnitPodcast]

😘

[@KnitWPGGirl]

Love the color and design of this sweater! You did a beautiful job!! Thank you for the blocking video.

[@StopDropandKnitPodcast]

Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed the video.

[@lorindasilveira9155]

Phew!!! So glad the sweater blocked out for you! Lesson learned for me. Often I forego swatching and have been “lucky” thus far. The design is really cute.

[@StopDropandKnitPodcast]

I know - I was really nervous it wouldn’t work out this time 😬😅

[@angelajohnson2830]

Wow. I never would have guessed it could block that much. Thanks for sharing!

[@StopDropandKnitPodcast]

It’s amazing how much it grew, isn’t it?! Thanks for watching ☺️

[@tressasmith1244]

The magic of blocking! Also, your son is soooo cute. I am giggling at his antics. 🤣

[@StopDropandKnitPodcast]

He’s lucky he’s so cute! 🤣

[@marymele6050]

Owen reminded me of my sweet grandson William!!!! I was relieved to see this!!!

[@shannonoliver5414]

Thank you so much for showing how to stretch a knit sweater with blocking. I am in the middle of knitting the Swallowtail sweater and i can tell it is going to be too small. It is fingering weight colorwork and there is no way i am going to rip it out. Luckily, i used superwash merino. Thanks again. 😊

[@StopDropandKnitPodcast]

Oh, the Swallowtail sweater is on my (way too long) list of things to knit! Yes, superwash merino will grow. The colorwork might give it less stretch, though… not sure. I’ll cross my fingers for you 🤞🏻

[@astridermanis7534]

Good morning, whew that was amazing. I am a newer knitter and recently purchased Knitters Pride Blocking Wires. I didn’t know that was a thing, but I saw it on an other podcast. Would have made this aggressive blocking more smooth and easier. Good job. Enjoying your time and talents.

[@StopDropandKnitPodcast]

You’re probably right. I haven’t bought the wires yet since I haven’t knit many shawls, but I will add them to my toolbox soon. Thanks for watching!

[@MoreTisha]

I did a guage swatch for my son's sweater and should have made it a little larger. This gives me hope!

[@StopDropandKnitPodcast]

Good luck! I hope it works out!

[@karensorrentino9498]

Great video! It is a beautiful design and knitted very skillfully! A few questions: 1) the other sweater you had stretched out, was it also superwash marino? 2) i’ve heard that after blocking, the fabric tends to shrink back some because of the stress/tension...have you noticed that?, 3) now that it fits you the way you want, is the fabric what you were aiming for?

[@StopDropandKnitPodcast]

Hi Karen! Yes, both sweaters that I aggressively blocked like this were superwash merino which is why I was successful. However, if my garments weren’t already in the ballpark of the size I needed this process wouldn’t have worked. Had my sweaters been any smaller they wouldn’t have grown enough to fit. With these sweaters they haven’t shrunk back. I think other fibers would have yielded different results. Acrylic, for instance, would not block out. I am happy with the fabric and thrilled that I can wear my sweater! You’ll see it on me in my next episode.

[@MaeS68]

Hello and thank you for this super useful video! I found you because I am knitting my first ever garment, a very simple shrug, and in SPITE of having made a gauge swatch, it looks like it would be more suited to an eight-year-old... 😟 I’m knitting it in Drops Nepal, and at the nearly halfway stage, I can’t face ripping it out and starting over. You have given me some hope!! 😌😌🙏🏼🙏🏼 My question is, isn’t superwash yarn not supposed to be blockable…? Or have I TOTALLY misunderstood that…? 🤔 I absolutely love your sweater, by the way - what a beautiful knit! 😍 Mae

[@StopDropandKnitPodcast]

Hi! You absolutely can block superwash wool! I’m pretty sure acrylic cannot be blocked, but wool, superwash or not, will work! Superwash does tend to grow, especially lengthwise, so perhaps that will work in your favor. You’ll need to block it aggressively every time you wash it, though, so keep that in mind. Also, there’s only so much blocking you can do without affecting the structure of the garment. Good luck!

[@MaeS68]

@@StopDropandKnitPodcastThank you for your reply. Actually the yarn I am knitting with, Drops Nepal, is not superwash - but I am hoping that the 30% alpaca within it may allow for some stretch 🙏🏼 I guess I was wondering what I might hope to recover in terms of percentage on the finished item… Thanks for your advice! 🤗

[@StopDropandKnitPodcast]

@@MaeS68 alpaca grows! It’s very drapey so you might be fine! It definitely should grow lengthwise.

[@cecilehoare3053]

Since I'm a rather novice knitter, will you have to block your sweater every time you wash it now?

[@StopDropandKnitPodcast]

Yes, every time you wash a knitted garment you need to block again. Thankfully, wool doesn’t need to be washed as often as our regular clothes. I probably wear each of my sweaters just a handful of times each season (I have enough to rotate through)

[@dianneblanco8107]

Lovely woman. But TMI and repeat comments most of us just want the facts and compact instructions. Hope this is helpful to build audience. ❤️

[@anthonyanthony284]

Does it stay like that if you wash it (assuming you don't do anything that would shrink it normally anyway)?

[@StopDropandKnitPodcast]

Nope, if you wash it you’ll always need to reshape and pin it again.