Knitting: what happens if I do not block before finishing up?

Question

I'm in the middle of making my first baby cardie. I've got all the pieces done and now it's time to finish up.

What happens if I finish up without blocking the pieces? Can I block it later?

The yarn is a 70% cotton, 30% wool.

Okay, I admit I'm lazy-ish and I'm loooking for shortcuts. However, I've read some instructions where they insist on blocking before finishing up, and some others that say it doesn't matter and you can block the whole garment after you're done. The inst. in my pattern say to block before finishing, but I'm wondering if there will be a significant difference if I block it after?

I'd appreciate the thoughts of knitters with experience with this, please? Thanks!

knittinmama · Accepted Answer

depending on the fiber, sometimes I block before sewing the pieces sometimes after.  Some fibers such as acrylic, I just wash, roll in a towel to remove excess moisture and pat into shape and let dry.

It's like ironing when sewing an outfit.  The more time you take to make sure each piece of the pattern is nice and neat and made/cut to size, the better the final product will turn out.

knittingdaily.com did a great article on blocking a while back.  You could probably find it in their archive.

? · Answer

I always block after the project is assembled.  That way, if I've stretched or scrunched anything, I can adjust it during the assembly process.

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Knitting: what happens if I do not block before finishing up?

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