Hi Everyone! I am making a cardigan, and I have the back and two fronts done. Now I am to join the shoulders, and then pick up stitches along armhole edge and continue knitting for the sleeves. Am I to block the fronts and back FIRST, before I join them and pick up the sleeve stitches?
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I would not recommend blocking any parts of the garment before the whole thing is completed. If you do that before picking up stitches for the arms, what happens when you want to block the arms? Whenever I’ve blocked a piece – or even read about blocking – I’ve always done it after the piece was entirely finished.
I don’t think it would bother it if you did. I never did. I just blocked everything after it was done. Blocking before, might alter the fit of the sleeve. I haven’t sewn shoulders or sewn in sleeves in quite sometime. I have a cardigan pattern that is worked in one piece with raglan sleeves.
No, it is not necessary.
Hello Julie!
Whenever you’re making garment items, you’ll probably find it better to lightly block the edges of your garment before finishing it. By this I mean, pinning the garment to the proper size (based on your pattern), including arm holes and sleeves and shoulders, and then lightly steam or spritz with water (and then allow the piece to dry while still pinned).
While this is not a “full blocking” of your piece, you’ll find that this procedure makes the edges “sit” down, keeps the joined pieces uniform (which makes connecting a WHOLE lot easier). Once completed, I’ll do a complete block of the garment–the blocking technique will depend on the type of material you’re using.
I’ve found that if I try to put garments together WITHOUT at least lightly blocking the edges, I cannot make the seams match up nicely and I risk the chance–by pulling one set of knitted fabric across another–of a series of very unsightly puckers and bulges in the longer side seams and some pretty ugly puckering at the back where the sleeves meet the back, which can be extremely disappointing after spending so much time on your garment.
Once the garment has been completed, however, I’ll complete the last and final blocking of the material for a finished look. Good luck!!
In this case it is your choice, but generally for these types of sweaters you don’t block first.
Do not block it until the whole thing is assembled but in all honesty I have never blocked any . Don’t do it unless it would be the ones that would have to be hand washed.
Hi, Julie B!
I do lightly block my pieces, particularly if I’m using natural fibers, to make sure I don’t have seam mismatches, sags or bags, before final finishing. I pin my shoulder seams and sleeves together, and steam lightly so the seams lie flat. I take the pins out and push the seams together edge-to-edge and check so that I can adjust for ease, if needed.
Then I grab a pencil and paper and note where I need to lick up or add stitches in attaching to ensure a smooth, flexible (and substantial) seam line, if there are any problem areas. You might want to look at the KnitPicks website How-tos section (http://www.knitpicks.com/content/index.php/cat/seaming/) – they recently had a great article on different seam finishes which gives some guidance on which finish to use, depending on your knitted fabric character.
I personally find that I can get away with not blocking synthetic blends and 100% synthetics if the knittic fabric is relatively firm – you can check this by hanging your gauge swatch – attach it to a hanger, using a clothespin, spritz it with water lightly, and check its shape and gauge again 24 hours or so later. If it’s changed, you DEFINITELY need to lightly block your pieces before you assemble. Hope this helps!
Lindie
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