How to block a sweater

Introduction: This article is an excerpt of the Luminous Summer pattern.

The effect of blocking a sweater is similar to that of ironing but without the heat. It evens out stitches and makes the sweater look more polished. It also keeps edges from rolling. It is a step that you definitely do not want to skip. Here I describe how I block a sweater and it does not mean to be THE only way to do it.

Step 1. Soak the sweater in tap water. I do not heat water nor add detergent.

Step 2. Gently squeeze out excess water and put it on a dry towel.

Step 3. Roll the sweater up in the towel to absorb as much water as possible. You may need to use more than one towel, depending on your size and yarn fiber.

Step 4. Lay it on a flat surface. If you have a blocking mat, by all means use it, otherwise any flat surface will do. I use a mash hanging dryer.

Step 5. Shape the sweater properly, making sure that it matches all the schematic measurements.

Step 6. Ideally, air dry the sweater. In reality things never get dry where I live except in summer. So when it is almost dry, I put it directly over the radiator to make sure that it is completely dry.