Blocking

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In this post I am going to go over the step by step process of blocking a doily that I made for my mother in law for Christmas.  Several months ago she sent over a box of goodies for me.  In the box I found crochet cotton and thread, some hooks and needles and several pattern books.  What better way to say thank you than making her something with the materials that she gave me.  I decided on this doily, it is called "Tulip Doily", designed by Dorothy Drake.  I found the pattern in Crochet Patterns by Herrschners.  The issue is from July/August 1991.

In this post I am going to show you how I blocked the finished piece.  Here is a picture of what the finished doily looks like unblocked.

As you can see, my doily doesn't lay flat.  It looks lumpy and bumpy.  

What you will need to block, large towel, pins, measuring tape and an iron.

The first thing that I did was to rinse the doily in warm soapy water.  I rinsed it well and laid it out on my towel.  I then rolled it up in the towel to absorb any excess moisture and then unrolled it and began pinning it down to the towel.

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My doily is 22 inches around, I pinned it down to the towel and took me tape measure and measured 22 inches from the pinned section across.  I placed another pin at the 22 inch mark.  I continued pinning and measuring around until I had all points pinned and measured.  Once I was done pinning and measuring, I rolled the doily up into the towel once again.  I left it in the towel for about 10 minutes.  This insured that all of the excess moisture had been absorbed.

My next step was to begin ironing my doily flat.  Since I am using 100% crochet cotton I set my iron to cotton/steam setting.  

I began lightly steaming and pressing the doily, making sure to keep my measurements at 22 inches.  This process takes time so have patience!!  Rushing is not going to get it done faster, I know by experience that when I rush; I end up making a mistake and then have to start over.  Once you are done ironing, removing the pins as you go, allow you piece to sit and cool.  Your doily may still be a little damp.  You can let it sit on the same towel or place it on a dry towel.  Allow your piece to air dry.  Once it is completely dry you can spray it with starch and iron it again.  The starch will help it hold its shape.

Below is what my finished doily looks like.  Quite a difference from the lumpy, misshapen piece that I started out with! 

I hope that this information is helpful to all who read and follow this blog.  Please feel free to refer your friends or sign-up to my subscription service.  That way you will never miss a post or pattern.

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