Blocking a Shawl

Hi everyone,

I’m admitting once again that I’m clueless and inexperienced ...
Why do I have to block a shawl after I finish it? And what does that look like—what exactly do I need to keep in mind? And what happens if I don’t do it? So many questions as I wait for my first yarn cake to arrive, which I’m going to use to crochet a shawl ... *cackle*—hence the panic-stricken question about blocking...

Hi Michaela!
Blocking a shawl has the advantage of highlighting details of the pattern and, for example, shaping points or curves evenly. For simple patterns, it’s often enough to hang the shawl wet on a clothesline, pull it taut with plenty of clothespins, and weigh down the lower edges with additional clothespins.
The most common way to highlight particularly delicate patterns and smooth out the shawl evenly is to block it using pins on a flat surface. If you’re blocking a shawl for the first time, it’s a task that takes some time. Blocking the shawl evenly requires a fair amount of patience and practice, but the result is worth it.

Hi Michaela,
I agree with Nadeleule…
To bring out the pattern, it’s important to block the shawl. I’ve knitted a lot of lace shawls over the last few years, and after blocking them, the patterns really came to life. And the shawl reached its proper size. Since I block shawls often, I bought some blocking wires online. The wires are “threaded” through the shawl at the edges and then secured with pins. This gives you straight edges—or, if you use flexible wires, even curves—depending on the shape of your shawl...
  I use these foam floor puzzles for kids as a base; the shawls pin down well, you can adjust the size of the base to fit the shawl, and it’s pretty quick to put away again.
Don’t panic, it’ll work out....
Best wishes, Steffi

Thanks to both of you! Luckily, my first shawl probably doesn’t need blocking—it has a mesh/openwork pattern. So I’ll just see how it goes.... I can already picture myself laboriously blocking the shawl on the puzzle mats, only for the dogs and cats to happily run all over it or snuggle up on it. It’ll definitely be fun. Maybe a clothesline is better after all.