{"id":575,"date":"2014-05-08T10:10:44","date_gmt":"2014-05-08T17:10:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575"},"modified":"2014-05-08T10:10:44","modified_gmt":"2014-05-08T17:10:44","slug":"crochet-cursing-blocking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575","title":{"rendered":"Crochet Cursing! Blocking?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ScannedImage\"<\/a>I am going to use a curse word in the world of crochet\u2026Blocking. Okay I said it, and I admit it is not my most favorite part of crocheting.
\nOver all my many years of crocheting, I never blocked my work, but I have a new understanding and appreciation for it in the more recent years.
\nSo in my earlier years of crocheting I mostly created afghans made of acrylic yarn, really looking at it, blocking would not have made much of a difference in my work. But as I began using more natural fibers, I can really see the difference blocking has to offer. This is even true of some of the new synthetic yarns.
\nI began to thinks about blocking different when someone expressed it as \u201ca way of setting the stitch\u201d. This one phrase opened up a new line of thought about this process, and caused me to investigate how this technique affects my fabric.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_6251.1\"<\/a>

Unblocked, they look okay, but the detailing is not as evident.<\/p><\/div>\n

So what is blocking? Blocking is the process of using moisture to open up the yarn fiber and set it into a desired shape. Yes, you may have already crocheted it into the shape you want, but the original structure of the yarn want s to pull it to itself. By adding moisture, (using a spray bottle of water, or steaming with an iron) the fiber in the yarn relaxes and opens up to the structure you have created. For best results, you should test the blocking on a swatch to determine what the best method of blocking is. Essentially this is a \u201clay flat to dry\u201d kind of project.
\nThis process is not only used in your finished fabric. The method of getting a fiber wet and setting it to a desired structure actually takes place in handspun yarns as well. It is referred to as \u201csetting the twist\u201d. After a yarn is plied (more than one strand spun together in the opposite direction of the single strands), it is submerged in water to remove the air. It is then snapped like a whip to remove the excess water, and hung to dry, sometimes even weighted (hanging weight at the end of the hank) to set the twists of the yarn. So setting a stitch by blocking is much like setting the twist in the yarn to begin with. It allows the fibers to \u201creceive a new memory\u201d of how to sit and where to belong.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_6254.1\"<\/a>

Blocked, you can see more of the open work, and everything is a little crisper and more defined.<\/p><\/div>\n

I do not use blocking to attempt to create something other then what I stitched, I do not attempt to get an additional several inches to my project and become something it is not. I use it to open up my open stitch work, my lace, help set my edges straighter, help my yarn to know where its new home is.
\nI guess I really cannot call it a curse word any more; it is a functional tool in my bag of techniques\u2026but still not one that I love\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am going to use a curse word in the world of crochet\u2026Blocking. Okay I said it, and I admit it is not my most favorite part of crocheting. Over all my many years of crocheting, I never blocked my … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[374,2],"tags":[460,471,43,466,467,465,470,96,462,150,473,100,463,464,461,469,472,468],"class_list":["post-575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-crochet-understanding","category-website","tag-blocking","tag-clean","tag-crochet","tag-curse","tag-cursing","tag-defined","tag-edge","tag-fiber","tag-handspun","tag-lace","tag-lat-flat-to-dry","tag-linda-dean","tag-natural-fiber","tag-setting","tag-setting-the-stitch","tag-sharper","tag-wetting","tag-words"],"yoast_head":"\nCrochet Cursing! Blocking? - Linda Dean Crochet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Crochet Cursing! Blocking? - Linda Dean Crochet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I am going to use a curse word in the world of crochet\u2026Blocking. Okay I said it, and I admit it is not my most favorite part of crocheting. Over all my many years of crocheting, I never blocked my … Continue reading →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Linda Dean Crochet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-05-08T17:10:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/ScannedImage-251x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"webmaster\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"webmaster\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"webmaster\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/322456a76598b4699874099df9538b6a\"},\"headline\":\"Crochet Cursing! Blocking?\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-05-08T17:10:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575\"},\"wordCount\":542,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/ScannedImage-251x300.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"blocking\",\"clean\",\"Crochet\",\"curse\",\"cursing\",\"defined\",\"edge\",\"fiber\",\"handspun\",\"lace\",\"lat flat to dry\",\"Linda Dean\",\"natural fiber\",\"setting\",\"setting the stitch\",\"sharper\",\"wetting\",\"words\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Crochet Understanding\",\"website\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575\",\"name\":\"Crochet Cursing! Blocking? - Linda Dean Crochet\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/ScannedImage-251x300.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-05-08T17:10:44+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/322456a76598b4699874099df9538b6a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/ScannedImage.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/ScannedImage.jpg\",\"width\":741,\"height\":884},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Crochet Cursing! Blocking?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Linda Dean Crochet\",\"description\":\"Instruction and Design\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/322456a76598b4699874099df9538b6a\",\"name\":\"webmaster\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a572eb395138bc25580ad3057e8ac9380bedbcd1f42ebaa022ae946c1aa66b27?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a572eb395138bc25580ad3057e8ac9380bedbcd1f42ebaa022ae946c1aa66b27?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"webmaster\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Crochet Cursing! Blocking? - Linda Dean Crochet","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Crochet Cursing! Blocking? - Linda Dean Crochet","og_description":"I am going to use a curse word in the world of crochet\u2026Blocking. Okay I said it, and I admit it is not my most favorite part of crocheting. Over all my many years of crocheting, I never blocked my … Continue reading →","og_url":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575","og_site_name":"Linda Dean Crochet","article_published_time":"2014-05-08T17:10:44+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/ScannedImage-251x300.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"webmaster","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"webmaster","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575"},"author":{"name":"webmaster","@id":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/322456a76598b4699874099df9538b6a"},"headline":"Crochet Cursing! Blocking?","datePublished":"2014-05-08T17:10:44+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575"},"wordCount":542,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/ScannedImage-251x300.jpg","keywords":["blocking","clean","Crochet","curse","cursing","defined","edge","fiber","handspun","lace","lat flat to dry","Linda Dean","natural fiber","setting","setting the stitch","sharper","wetting","words"],"articleSection":["Crochet Understanding","website"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575","url":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575","name":"Crochet Cursing! Blocking? - Linda Dean Crochet","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/ScannedImage-251x300.jpg","datePublished":"2014-05-08T17:10:44+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/322456a76598b4699874099df9538b6a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/ScannedImage.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/ScannedImage.jpg","width":741,"height":884},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?p=575#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Crochet Cursing! Blocking?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/","name":"Linda Dean Crochet","description":"Instruction and Design","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/322456a76598b4699874099df9538b6a","name":"webmaster","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a572eb395138bc25580ad3057e8ac9380bedbcd1f42ebaa022ae946c1aa66b27?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a572eb395138bc25580ad3057e8ac9380bedbcd1f42ebaa022ae946c1aa66b27?s=96&r=g","caption":"webmaster"},"url":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/?author=1"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=575"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":576,"href":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575\/revisions\/576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lindadeancrochet.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}