Are you a blocker?  I never used to be personally, but I couldn’t figure out what my projects were missing.  I mean – I followed patterns correctly, matched gauge, and executed all the steps, but my finished projects just seemed to lack that extra oomph, ya know what I mean?

Until I discovered steam blocking…. and my whole world changed!!!  I had heard of traditional blocking where you dampen your item and pin it out into the desired shape and let dry…  but seriously….  Ain’t nobody got time for that (or the space, right!), especially with those larger items.  With steam blocking, it is SO MUCH FASTER and only takes up a small amount of space.

You don’t even need any special equipment…..  All you need is an iron with steam capability and an ironing board.  Heck, an ironing board isn’t even mandatory, lol!  you could just lay your item on any flat surface that wouldn’t be damaged by steam.

Lay your project on your ironing board with wrong side up, and make sure your iron is filled with water.  Turn your iron to the hottest setting.  On my iron, that’s Linen.

Wrong side up on the ironing board…  Notice how the edging is warped and rippled instead of laying flat.

Water reservoir full and set on highest heat setting

When your iron gets hot and you can see/hear steam coming out, hover your iron as close to the project as you can get without touching the iron to the project.  (well, if your fiber can take the heat of the iron itself – like maybe cotton – you can touch the project, but I find I don’t need to.)  Let the steam penetrate the fiber as your move your iron back and forth S.L.O.W.L.Y.  I’d recommend small sections at a time.

Look at all that steam!!!

As you saturate each section, set the iron aside and position the fibers where you want them.  Then grab the iron and move on to the next section, and the next, and the next… until you’ve covered the whole project.

Wanna know the real beauty of this?  You don’t have to hang it to dry or pin it or anything of the sort!  With steaming, the fibers dry really quickly, and usually by the time I finish, each section, the one before it is dry.

Before steaming – all rumpled and wavy

After steaming -oh so smooth!

Here’s a quick down & dirty video so you can see it in action:

Thanks for watching, and happy blocking!

XOXO – Shelley