Blocking

[Melissa Kroll]

Hi!

   I'm working on an afghan that states that each of the squares needs to be 10x10. They also stated that some BLOCKING maybe needed. I have never blocked anything dealing w/ crochet before. How would I go about doing this? Also, should I measure each square & the ones that aren't the needed measurements just block those or how am I suppose to know which one are the right size & which ones aren't?

[magiccrochetfan]

What yarn are you using?  Wool and other natural fibers respond to blocking, but acrylic doesn't very much.  

[Melissa Kroll]

What yarn are you using?  Wool and other natural fibers respond to blocking, but acrylic doesn't very much.  

 

I do believe that I'm working w/ REDHEART supersaver yarn that has acrylic in because it is what the patterns calls for.

[magiccrochetfan]

Super Saver won't change much by being blocked, although some people steam block acrylic; you can google that term to find a blog post or 2 about it.  

 

if there is not too much difference in your finished blocks i think you don't have to worry about it.  If some are too small you can add a round of stitches.  

[jessicali]

I do this for blocking.. I don't know how well it would work for bigger squares like the ones you're asking about, but I do know it works wonders with my 6x6 and smaller squares. I modified mine a little bit though and got some of hubby's tools and ended up using wood instead of styrofoam because that and my cat don't work. He wants to play. So I drilled holes the correct size and secured them with super glue (hot glue would work too) to make sure they stayed.  http://www.repeatcrafterme.com/2015/05/crochet-pixel-square-blocking-docking.html

[Granny Square]

Acrylic can't be truly blocked unless you 'melt' (deform) it with indirect heat, and it can be tricky to deform without ruining it.  Deformed acrylic stops being 'springy' like crocheted fabric, and becomes limp and unforgiving like woven fabric.  I would never heat-block an acrylic garment that needed to stretch and retract, but would consider doing so for a blanket--but you'd have to 'melt' all of the squares, it would look/act odd if you didn't--just stretch some apply heat without stretching others.  

 

Are you doing the squares all the same pattern (not a crazy-quilt like assortment)?  If you are making squares with the same yarn, same pattern and hook, you shouldn't need to block them.  If you are doing an assortment of different "approximately 10 inch" square patterns, I'd re-size by adding or subtracting a row.

 

I'd just stack the squares on top of each other (I like that idea with the tall sticks to line them up) and see if they are all pretty close--they don't need to match down to the millimeter.  Also, it's more important that they are all the SAME, if they are all identical but a tad bigger or smaller than 10" it's not a big deal for a blanket.  You can add a border (or more rows to a border) around the assembled blanket if it's a bit smaller than you expected.