How to Steam Block Crochet
Blocking is the way to give your crochet items a finished, professional look. Blocking smoothes out wrinkles and puckers and evens out edges. Blocking is also a way to gently coax the finished crocheted piece into the desired dimensions or to match the pattern’s schematic.
There are basically three methods of blocking—wet submersion, wet spray, and steam. Today we are going to talk about steam blocking. Steam blocking is the method I use most. In my crochet, I don’t use a lot of luxury yarns and mostly use acrylic, acrylic/wool blends, wool, cotton, and cotton/linen blends. For these yarns, steam blocking is perfectly safe and applicable. To be safe, try steam blocking your gauge swatch or a practice piece of crochet in your chosen yarn to make sure it can tolerate heat and steam.
For your blocking surface, you can either use a commercially available blocking board or make your own by covering a piece of foam core or insulation board with a thick towel. A piece of checked fabric laid on top of the towel can be helpful as a blocking guide. I block shawls on a bed, using a quilt turned wrong side up as a blocking surface. I use the lines of quilting as a guide to measure and square up my crochet piece.
Many people recommend blocking pins and you may certainly use these, or any rustproof pins, to aid blocking. I don’t use them. I find that once a piece is steamed and laid out flat, in most cases, pins are not needed. The exception to this is a pointed or picot-edge border—sometimes these benefit from being pinned out. In any case the first step in steam blocking is to lay your piece out on your blocking surface and gently stretch and smooth it into the proper dimensions. It’s OK if it doesn’t quite get to the exact dimensions just by you smoothing it out—the steam will help.
I use either a steam iron or a steamer to steam block. I have a steamer with a hose that works great especially for larger items because it has a hose that allows me to reach farther. Most of the time, though, I use a steam iron. To get started, let your iron heat to the lowest temperature that produces steam. When it has a good steam worked up, hold your iron about an inch above the crochet, never allowing the iron to touch the piece, and move the iron slowly around until everything is saturated with steam.
Now use your hands to smooth, stretch and coax the piece into shape, using more steam if needed. After steaming is complete and piece is blocked, allow it to remain undisturbed until completely dry. No cheating! The piece must be completely dry for best results, which depending on the fiber and the humidity, may take an hour to overnight.
And that’s it! With this simple blocking procedure, your beautiful crochet can now be shown at its very best.
Hi. I really love your calypso shawl. I even have a skein of Chroma to make it with. I have started it a dozen times. :(. I get the main part if the pattern just fine. What I can’t seem to understand is the top row. From how I’m reading the pattern, the top row isn’t even on
each side. I want it to be even and have tried so hard! Also, in how I’m doing it, it seems to be going up more, when it should be going out more on each side. I know it’s a V shape, but does it spread out more when it’s blocked? Do you have a chart you could
send me? Sorry to be dense. It seems so easy, but when. I do it–it’s not balanced. I’m not a beginner, so I know I must be missing something.
Thanks very much,
Gay West.
Hi Gay,
It does go up in a V shape as you are making it. Blocking spreads it out more. I’m sorry I do not have a chart. I hope you can have success with this– I know you are going slowly and carefully. Once you get the pattern down it should be easier for you. — Carolyn
Good to know! I too am not a novice but mine is going in a V shape and was worried I missed something. I love the pattern! I won’t worry anymore until I’m done and block it. Thanks!
I usually don’t block my work as I make amigurumi or dishcloths. I’m working on a afghan right now – do you suggest blocking before joining the squares or after?
If the squares are all the same, I personally like to block and steam after the squares are joined. The steam smooths out any ripples in the seams between blocks and makes everything lay smoothly. However many people like to also steam block the blocks before joining them. This can be especially helpful in sampler afghans where your blocks are all different and might be slightly different sizes. If they are all blocked to the same size before joining, the final result will be more smooth and even.
My first shawl was just a wild accidental discovery, and it was “V” shaped. I had just rediscovered crochet, and found out that blankets aren’t the only thing one can make. I have severely rapid muscle fatigue that has landed me in a bed 99% of the time. I can’t handle the weight of an afghan as it grows, too heavy, and I end up with tendonitis in every weight bearing joint where tendons and muscle groups connect that you use to turn the afghan as you go. Motifs allowed me to make multiple small works of crochet beauty (in my eyes at lesst) to enrienrich my life. Hexagons were my favorites, and I had to start joining them as there were so many they were falling off my large nightstand! Joining them held them together and I just keot making more. I frll asleep while joining a hexagon one day and woke to discover I’d pulled the hexagon “fabric” over my cold, exposed shoulder as I slept. Inspiration to join new motifs in a shape that went down my back, then over my shoulders and hung straight down from each shoulder. It worked! I didn’t know it had a name (V – shaped Shawl) until much later. I have since made several shawls but they, frustratingly frll off my shoulders! I have not been anle to find “V – Shaped Shawl patterns! I just happened across yours and I am more than excited to see if a pattern exists! I wear my shawls in bed, like a bed jacket, and live them! Thank you for making a shawl like this for others to become more aware of ” V-shaped” shawls!
So glad you like the V-shape Maschelle! 🙂 I love them too.