Do you want your crochet to look fabulous after you spent so much time and effort on your project? Then you should block your makings. Late last night i was crocheting snowflakes and when they were done they did not look like the beautiful ones in the book AT ALL! I remembered reading about blocking somewhere online and that it might have something to do with getting a perfect endproduct. After doing a quick search I found myself taking a piece of the Toddlers’ foam play mat and a box of pins, pinning a snowflake onto a pink ‘Z’. A few sprays later it was soaking wet and I went to bed.
This morning the snowflake was dried up in the pinned position. It was very exciting to pull out the first pin: The corner from which I pulled it stayed in position. I removed the remaining pins and there it was: A perfectly straight snowflake!! Looking exactly like the one in the book. I can nothing but recommend blocking. Doing another search, I am a lot wiser on the subject.
Short version
Blocking means ‘locking’ the fibres in a fixed position. It’s especially recommended for lace crochet like shawls and doilies. Shawls in particular benefit from a good blocking, as the stitches really stand out and shows off structure and texture very nicely. Also the shawl drapes wonderfully when blocked,
There are different methods on how to block: Wet blocking, where you soak the crochet completely, to let it dry into shape. Another way to wet block is to spritz the item with a spray bottle. Steam blocking, by holding a steam iron a few inches above the crochet (this is the best method applicable for synthetic fibres like acrylic yarn). Common to all blocking is that you pin the item onto a firm surface (like an old foam mattress or a foam play mat), where it can stay undisturbed until completely dry. Remember to arrange and pin very neatly, the shape stays like this until the next time you wash it! Give it a try, the end result is just SO much better!
Long version
Detailed description on blocking and youtube links:
http://www.makeandtakes.com/finishing-your-crochet-project
Very detailed description and video:
https://www.anniescatalog.com/crochet/content.html?content_id=628&type_id=S
Wikipedia on the matter:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blocking_%28textile_arts%29
