The Silk Lace Series: Blocking
A project knit or crocheted with the Silk Lace yarn will almost always benefit from blocking.
Blocking will minimize the uneven stitches and alleviate curling, as well as open up a lace project. Even basic stockinette will benefit from from blocking, as the light, airy nature of the yarn will be better revealed.
Silk is damaged when exposed to high heat. Steam is hot enough to damage the fiber and one cannot control the temperature accurately enough. The damaged fiber is more prone to wear and it looses some of its sheen. Due to this, I would not recommend steam blocking.
My preferred choice is wet blocking. After carting around a project and exposing it to dirt and grime, along with the normal grease and dirt that will be transferred from one's hands while working it, I feel a project needs a good wash, so I prefer wet blocking over pinning out the project and spraying it with water.
When blocking, I use hot tap water with a clarifying shampoo, which removes dirt and grease without leaving any residue. While there are many products sold specifically for knit or crocheted projects, many of these are designed to not be rinsed out. This will leave a residue on your project that will attract dirt and oil, which will require more cleaning later on.
I soak the project for at least one hour. If one plans to hard block the project, one could soak the project over night. Silk does not easily absorb water, so to fully wet the project, an overnight soaking will fully wet the fibers and allow the silk to stretch more. This is another reason why wetting the project with a spray bottle to block is not as effective. The spray is generally not enough to adequately wet the silk.
After soaking, rinse the project in tepid water and roll it in a dry towel to absorb excess water, squeezing the water out gently. At this point, one, again, has several options for how to block the project, all of which will work equally well. A method should be chosen based on what one is most comfortable with while taking into consideration where and how much space one has to block the project, as well as what sort of equipment one has to work with, i.e. blocking boards and wires versus towels and T-pins. My preference is to use a blocking board and wires to pin out the project.
The project and the desired look should determine if the project is blocked lightly or stretched more tautly to "hard" block or some where in between. The nature of silk should be taken into consideration when blocking. Silk does not have the elasticity of wool, so a project that needs some give, such as a sweater, might be blocked more lightly than a lace project in which stretch and give is relatively unimportant for the use of the project. Again, these decisions are largely personal preference and project-determined.
Overnight, eh? Good to know. Thanks!
So helpful to have this information. Thanks so much for setting it out so clearly!
I'm glad you are urging people to wash their silk. As my mother used to tell me, "silk was around long before dry cleaning." I, too, like to wash all my knitting before blocking. I use a variety of natural fiber washes and don't mind the no-rinse kinds -- but I rinse anyway. Glad you're posting again!
I am new to blocking and continue to be afraid of getting yarn wet. I have just finished a shawl made with a bamboo/silk yarn. Does this combination make a difference. I dont want to get it wrong because it is a birthday gift. Thanks for your help.
Regarding the bamboo/silk blocking: I can't really say how that yarn will handle, as I don't work or dye with bamboo yarns. You could probably treat it similar to 100% silk yarn, but you might want to knit up a test swatch with some leftovers and wash and block it to see how it reacts.
I too am new to blocking, and am shopping for a clarifying shampoo. Did you mean shampoo, as in for hair? Could you recommend any brands? Thanks for the helpful article.