Most basics of knitting I learned as a kid or teenager by trial and error. Which means I made a lot of mistakes, and learned from them. I remember having this vague idea of blocking but have no memory of wet blocking any items. I do however, remember using an iron.
Ironing an item rather than wet blocking makes sense in a lot of situations. Recently, a customer asked me about what to do with a large blanket. You can put a blanket in a tub or a utility sink and proceed to lay flat somewhere. However, you can also use an iron on almost anything you make to straighten edges and calm down stitches.
There are some things that wet blocking is most useful such as stranded colorwork or lace work. In those instances you want the stitches to stretch out and loosen up or maybe even out. Wet blocking will achieve this in ways that using an iron cannot.
But many other things would benefit from an iron and maybe a bit of water (either from the iron’s steaming function or adding a spritz yourself).
Here are some examples: Suppose you take our intro class and make a long scarf. The edges are purposefully done in garter to prevent rolling, but you still have slight rolling on your edges. Taking an iron to those edges will calm them down and flatten the scarf.
You’ve just made a sweater in superwash yarn. You’ve heard that superwash can stretch but the sweater fits you perfectly. You could steam any areas that need calming down, and voila, the sweater is ready to wear!
You are making blocks for a blanket which you will fit together. Before seaming you are supposed to block each one. Steaming them will flatten them and enable you to manipulate the shape.
You come home tired and throw your handmade sweater on a chair and it comes out wrinkled. Rather than go through the whole wet blocking process, take an iron to it to smooth out those edges.
Of course you will want to wash items at some point. An iron can’t do that! But some people do have their garments dry cleaned so that’s another option to use in conjunction with steaming.
Don’t have an iron at home? Maybe it’s time to get one before they are obsolete!
Jennifer