Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Experiment in blocking acrylic

So, if you've looked at any of my patterns (seriously, ANY of them), you will note that I use acrylic yarns for everything. Absolutely everything. Hubby and daughter are allergic to wool and my sons have sensitive skin. Did I mention I have three kids? Everything I own needs to be wash and wear. I do own an iron but it lives in the garage next to my sewing machine for the few times I need to iron fabric before tracing and cutting patterns. Other than that, I don't believe in high maintenance wearables. Hence my love of acrylic.

This weekend I am heading to Las Vegas and I wanted to have a couple of kick-ass crocheted pieces to take along. I chose the Toshiko Popover and the All Shawl, both Doris Chan creations. I made the Popover in naturallycaron.com Spa, and the All Shawl in Red Heart Soft. They are rockin'! The All Shawl, though, is waaaay too short for my liking. I even added two extra rows but the inevitability is staring me in the face: I am going to have to block it.

Um, I've never blocked a thing in my life. Working with acrylic, I don't really find the need. Plus, it scares me. But this shawl is a thing of beauty and I am all about new challenges, so why not give it a go? Did a bit of research and it seems peoples views on blocking acrylic are all over the map. Wet block, steam block, don't block. What's a gal to think? This is when the science geek in me takes over. On to my experiment...

I made three swatches in Red Heart Soft. I used edc (extended double crochet) since that's the stitch used in the All Shawl. I made them 4"X4". One was a control swatch, and would remain in its original state throughout the experiment. One swatch was to be wet blocked, and one was to be steam blocked. I don't have blocking boards or push pins, so I made do with what I have. I used plastic canvas sheets and sewing pins. Seems to have worked just fine!

All three swatches...
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Sizing...
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Wet Blocking
For this swatch, I just soaked the swatch and rung out the water as much as possible. Then I pinned in place and waited. It took 5 hours to dry!

Wet blocking on the plastic canvas...
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Steam Blocking
For this swatch, I pinned in place and held my iron about 1 - 2" above the swatch. I kept blasting it with steam for about 2 or 3 minutes then left it to cool...which didn't take long.

Steam blocking on the plastic canvas...
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After blocking, both swatches were the same size, as expected.

All three swatches ready for the washer...
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But remember, this household is all about the washable benefits of acrylic. So, which method would retain its shape after being thrown in the washer/dryer? The results are quite clear. Although the steam blocked piece lost a bit of height, it's the obvious winner. In fact, I couldn't tell which swatch was original and which was wet blocked. Should have put a little contrasting yarn on that one too, but it really wouldn't have helped, since it ended up the same size as the original.

All three swatches, post washer/dryer...
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Hope you enjoyed the results of my experiment as much as I did. Guess a handheld steamer is in my future as I REALLY need to block my shawl. Once I do, I will add pics!