Krista from Explore with Knitsy or @KnitsyKnits on Instagram taught me this amazing trick for blocking cowls and I wanted to show you how to do it, too!
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Materials:
- Knit or Crocheted Cowl
- Wooden Dowels
- Blocking Mats
- Blocking Pins or T-Pins
- Towel
- Wool Wash (Optional)
Step 1:
Fill up a sink or basin with cold water and add a little bit of wool wash if you’re using some. I decided just to use a little bit of this Woolite for mine. Soak your item in the water mixture for a minimum of 15 minutes.
Step 2:
Remove the item from the water and gently squeeze out as much water as you can from the item. I like to lay it in a towel, roll it up and step on the towel. This causes it to release as much water as possible and will make the item dry faster while blocking.
Step 3:
Lay out your item on the blocking mats and gently stretch it to the dimensions the pattern you followed recommended. I really like my blocking mats from KnitIQ. The grid lines help you to line up your item and make sure it’s being blocked straight! You can also make them any shape you want for blocking – cowl, sweater, shawl, etc.
Step 4:
Insert the dowel sticks inside the cowl or item you are blocking that you don’t want harsh lines on. On a cowl, it’s the two outer edges. Pin the dowels in place on the blocking mats. You can also add additional pins if you would like to!
I really love my blocking pins from Knitter’s Pride because they are big and sturdy and don’t take tons of little pins – but you can also use normal T-pins.
Step 5:
Leave the item in a safe location (away from kids and pets) and allow it to fully dry!
Step 6:
After it’s fully dried, remove the pins and dowels and enjoy your new item that has no harsh creases in it!
This is my Mesa Verde Cowl and I used Gray Matter and Breaking Black in Swish DK from Breaking Yarn! I did a test knit for Krista for this cowl – so the tutorial on blocking with dowels only seemed appropriate! I’ll do a blogpost on the full knit experience when the pattern is being released!
