How to block a crochet or knitted garment

Hello embartisanknitters, how are you ?. After reading your questions. Today I will explain how to block a crochet or knitted garment. It's easy to do, but block your crochet pieces carefully.
Blocking the fabric is a method of giving it the shape we want and of obtaining the exact, correct size of what we weave, so as not to make mistakes with the measurements. It also provides definition to the points: a flat and uniform look, like fresh from a machine. There are several methods, depending on the quality of the yarn we use: submerging the piece in water, applying steam, or spraying water with an aerosol (this is the most recommended for extremely delicate fibers). To not complicate and be sure that we can apply it to any type of material, I recommend that you practice the steam method (because there will be qualities that can not get wet, etc., so I always do the same, and it works).
 WHAT DO YOU NEED?
 A normal steam iron, pins and one if you do not have a grid,  put a thick towel on a flat surface and there you can work. You will need a straight line to guide you, that's why any squared surface is good, but if not, you can use the mattress. Its edges form a perfect 90º angle, so it serves as a rule.

HOW IS IT DONE? Once you put the large towel but folded, (so that we have a padded surface), where you can nail the pins, put the piece and give the shape you want, stretching it and, for example, if it is a square, taking care of that the sides are the same size. If for example it is a fabric that the edge forms peaks, leaves, etc., that each thing remains in the place you want before putting the pins. Now, you are going to heat the iron until steam, and you will put it about 4-5 cm away from the fabric. You can not iron it, you can never never touch the fabric with the iron. Remember, it is only to apply steam at a distance ... When making a first pass through all the fabric, you will go (being careful not to burn yourself), pressing with your hand on, little by little, trying to crush it. And then you give it another steam pass more. When the piece is big, I do the process on both sides. At the end, I open the window and leave the piece (still fixed with pins), even all night. (It is NOT necessary, but if you have time, much better!Once the steam is applied, we can repeat the process on the reverse side:



The result is spectacular (especially, it will make a big difference in the lace stitches) But even in the knit stitch, but each stitch takes a definite, uniform, even shape ... say goodbye to bulges, reliefs and strange things And very important: the smooth stitch or jersey will NOT fold or roll anymore!
I hope you liked this. For more questions, you can email me at embartisanknitting@yahoo.com or in my page embartisanknitting & crochet of Facebook.
Hugs to all.
Esther
Embartisanknitting & crochet.