How to Block a Sweater (or Other Knitting and Crochet Projects!)

When I first starting knitting and crocheting, I had no idea what blocking was or how to do it and I usually skipped it! When I eventually made my first wool sweater, I tried blocking for the first time and loved the finished, professional feel of the fabric.

Blocking is an important step in both crochet and knitting! Blocking helps to open up the yarn fibers and “settle” the stitches into place. It also makes the project malleable so you can shape and block to certain dimensions.

In this tutorial I will be specifically showing how to wet block a 100% wool sweater and what you’ll need for the process. Wet blocking is essentially soaking a hand knit (or crocheted) project for a certain amount of time to open up the fibers.

These steps are same whether you are blocking a sweater, scarf, socks or other accessories and this is also how you would “wash” your hand knits in between wears. I followed these same steps when I blocked my panels for my granny square tote bag in order to get them nice and flat before seaming together. Blocking is also important when you need to set a specific shape in your hand knit garment like on the curved hem of the Miles Shirt Jacket and Miles Tee (see before and after photos below).

In my example I’m blocking the Agnes Sweater Vest which was designed to need a wet block to help shape the neckline and armholes and reach finished dimensions. To make your own, you can find the original one-sized tutorial for the Agnes Sweater here or check out the official graded PDF pattern in multiple sizes!

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Some Things You’ll Need

• Towels
• Blocking mats (optional)
• Measuring Tape
• Sink, tub, large bowl or basin
• Rinse-free soap – This Soak Wash from Knit Picks is a rinse-free formula designed for blocking sweaters.

I am pretty minimal when it comes to blocking and I just use a sink and some towels. I’ve never used blocking mats or pins, but I know lots of knitters who find them helpful and love to use them!

Step 1: Soak Your Sweater

Start by filling up a sink, tub, large bowl or basin with lukewarm water. You should never use hot water, especially with wool sweaters, because you could accidentally felt your project (felting is when the wool fibers bond together and create a dense fabric) . If using, add a rinse-free soap and swirl it around to incorporate it into the water.

Add your sweater into the water after it’s full – placing it under running water can sometimes cause it to felt – and gently push it down into the water. You don’t want to agitate or move the project around too much in the water because, again, there’s a risk of felting.

Let your project soak for at least 15 minutes. For sweaters, I usually do a bit longer, like 20-30 minutes. If you walk away and forget about it for an hour or two – totally been there – then no worries, it won’t hurt it.

Step 2: Squeeze Out Excess Water

Once the soaking time is up, drain out the water from the sink/tub or lift your project out of the basin. Lift your sweater by supporting the weight of it evenly so you don’t distort the shape and gently squeeze out as much water as you can.

Place the sweater flat on a towel and roll it up in the towel. Press on the towel to help remove the excess water. For bigger sweaters, I like to put the towel on the floor and slowly walk along the rolled up towel with my bare feet. I get weird looks from my family, but it’s really effective in getting the excess water out!

Step 3: Block to Measurements

Lay out your sweater on another dry towel (or blocking mats if using) and gently reshape your project to the desired shape and dimensions. Your sweater is really fragile at this point and easily malleable, so you don’t want to pull or stretch it too harshly. Carefully smooth out any wonky stitches and straighten out areas like hems and sleeves to help it lay nicely when drying.

When blocking the Agnes Sweater, I will round out the collar and armhole by gently shaping into a curve and carefully shape the sweater to match the finished dimensions in the pattern. If you’re following along in the Agnes Sweater, for sizes M-5XL, shape and smooth out the sections where the added column rows (sections 1 and 4) meet the armhole ribbing to help it lay flat.

Now the hard part…waiting for your project to dry! You want to let your sweater dry completely before trying it on or moving it to avoid any distortions in the shape. Depending on the weather where you live, the temperature of your house or the size and density of your project, this can take anywhere from 24 hrs to a couple of days. I will switch out the towel underneath or move the sweater to a sunny spot to help speed things up.

And that’s really all there is to it to blocking a hand knit or crocheted sweater! There have been times I’ve finished knitting a sweater and didn’t like the fit until after blocking, so now I never skip it. 🙂

Thanks for reading!