Blocking

[Heidemarie]

Hello, I am crocheting a square with the recommended sized hook and the end result is supposed to be 9.5" square, but mine is just 7". I have crochet it with as little tension as possible. This is a project through Annie's Crochet Club. My question is, when I block this square will it stretch that much? I've never blocked before. Thank you

[Granny Square]

Really, the question you should be asking (yourself) is, where are my bigger hooks?  Everybody has a different stitch tension, including designers, and you, and me.  The designer probably has a looser stitch tension than you do.  

This is a huge difference to try to block out ( %-wise), depending on what you are making.  Does what you are making have to fit?  Is it a toy?  That may make a difference, if it's a toy it can just be a bit small, but a hat (for example) would be a different issue, your piece is about 74% the size of the original.  It's unlikely you'd be able to stretch another 26% out by blocking.

Natural fibers block better than acrylic, but the point of blocking isn't really for making things hugely bigger, but primarily for getting items to lay flat.  Example, I am a doily-head and occasionally do some aggressive blocking to fix mild ruffling, but no way I could stretch-block that kind of size ratio out of doily cotton.  On a  recent REALLY aggressive blocking I managed to flatten a really ruffly 17" diameter to a flat 19", but that was less than 11% difference, and that was with pins popping out and gouging my blocking board a little.  And very open lace, versus solid fabric.

Edited March 20, 2020 by Granny Square